Jeremy Lin feeling ‘great’ on knee, targets second-round return

Jeremy Lin is on course to return to action for the second round of the NBA playoffs, should the New York Knicks get past their first-round opponent.

The Knicks are matched up against the Heat, so they are a huge underdog to do that.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson said the team is counting on Lin to be back by round two, TNT’s Marty Snider noted during the Knicks-Bobcats broadcast Thursday night, and when asked if that’s his plan, too, Lin told Snider, “Absolutely, that’s my plan to be back in round two.”

Lin practiced with the team on Wednesday, and Snider reported that he spent about 40 minutes shooting by himself on the court at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte before Thursday’s game. Lin can run and shoot on his surgically repaired knee, but can’t cut on it, according to Snider.

“It felt great, I’m working back slowly, but it really felt good today,” Lin said, per Snider. “(But) I don’t want to push it too much.”