A few Heat-Knicks notes on a Monday:
### Whereas the Heat had no media availability on Monday, Knicks coach Mike Woodson had a candid 30-minute session with reporters by phone:
Woodson said though it’s not out of the question that Jeremy Lin – who had knee surgery April 2 – could play Wednesday, “I’m not counting on him to play… He’s not in great shape. Playoff basketball, you have to be at an all-time high. I’m a little apprehensive about him possibly coming back.”
### With Baron Davis out with a knee injury, Woodson said he will start Mike Bibby at point guard and might use Toney Douglas. “He’s not as fast and crafty as he used to be,” Woodson said of Bibby. “But he’s still capable in short minutes of running a team. I feel comfortable [starting him] in a game like that. He can still hit big shots.”
### Davis learned Monday he will miss 12 months with a torn MCL and ACL and a partially torn patella tendon.
### Woodson said he might use J.R. Smith or even Carmelo Anthony at point guard in short stretches if Erik Spoelstra uses a big lineup. He said when the Heat plays LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, Mike Miller and a power rotation player such as Udonis Haslem, he worries about Bibby having to defend Miller or Battier. “That’s a bad matchup,” Woodson said.
### Woodson, on the series: “We’ve been in every game. We’ve got to control tempo and keep their fans out of the game” Wednesday.
### Woodson said he wasn’t surprised that Spoelstra had Battier – not James – guard Anthony down the stretch in Game 4. “Battier is a pretty damn good defender,” Woodson said. “They could have gone either way.”
### Very late Sunday night on TNT, Charles Barkley made a cogent case for why Spoelstra erred in having James standing in the corner, essentially a decoy, on the Heat’s final possession of Game 4. Barkley said you can’t justify having “the best player in the world” not involved in the final play.
TNT's Kenny Smith agreed, saying, "I would have had the ball in James' hands and let Wade set the pick. They are not going to switch and all of a sudden, you have a runaway train and LeBron going to the basket. You still need to have your two best players involved in the play, and LeBron James is clearly one of the best two players on the team."
Shaquille O’Neal defended Spoelstra, noting Wade’s late-game ability in the clutch.
### Wade is now 2 for 6, all time, in the playoffs on shots to tie or win the game in the final 24 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. James remains 5 for 13.
This season, Wade is now 3 for 7 on those games. James remains 1 for 2.
### Haslem played just 14 minutes in Game 4, with Spoelstra more inclined to go with a smaller lineup for longer stretches.
### By going 4 for 11 on free throws in Game 4, Wade became the first NBA player to miss that many free throws in a playoff loss that narrow since Ben Wallace in 2006, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Wilt Chamberlain did that three times.
### For Dolphins, Marlins and Canes items, see our last post.
