Antonio

McDyess

He should be joined on the court by Rasheed Wallace (hamstring) and Elden Campbell (thumb).

McDyess has missed five games with a calf injury, but really wants to be on the court against his former team in New York.

McDyess is filling in while Ben Wallace attends his brother’s funeral. He could be worth a look if you have daily transactions.

McDyess left on crutches but the good news is it wasn’t his surgically repaired knee. Consider him day-to-day for now.

''There were no surprises during the surgery and we are very optimistic that Antonio will have a full recovery and be able to play again next season,’' said Dr. Norman Scott. The Knicks hope to have McDyess ready for training camp, but that appears unlikely.

It’s still not certain whether McDyess will play in the season opener. ''His knee is as healed as it should be at this time,” Layden said. ''He won’t be wearing a brace. His spirits are very good. His mental outlook is terrific. We’re going to be conservative. We’re not going to rush things. We’re going to take our time.’'

One reason is the limited number of practice dates this month. McDyess has begun limited practicing with the team and can do contact drills, but he still hasn’t been cleared to scrimmage.

McDyess says he is ready to go the minute doctors give him the okay. The Knicks want to be absolutely certain his knee is 100 percent.

Coach Don Chaney said: ''I watched him play today and one of my assistants said, ‘He could go tomorrow. He could play in the next game.’ Say he comes out and plays great (at practice today) and says, ‘I’ll be able to go a couple minutes.’ (If) the doctor says he’s okay, I’m gonna to do that.’' The return could possibly be pushed back to Saturday’s home game, but in any case, this is a surprise. McDyess was believed to be out until December. He’s someone to watch closely this week.

“Dr. Scott called, and he cleared me for one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-three with the team,” McDyess said. “It’s great news.” Coach Don Cheaney said he doesn’t believe McDyess is ready for full practices yet. The forward is still probably 3-4 weeks away from returning.