Jeremy Lin is out 6 weeks w/small,chronic meniscal tear in knee, team says
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) March 31, 2012
This season cannot get weirder or more emotionally volatile for the Knicks. They start off pretty well, then fall of a cliff. Then Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire go down, and Lin emerges, and they go on a winning streak. Amar’e returns and they’re playing well. Then Carmelo Anthony returns and the team falls apart again. So naturally the Knicks’ reaction is to fire Mike D’Antoni, because that makes sense. Then the Knicks turn to Mike Woodson, a great coach in his own right who got a raw deal in Atlanta, and he puts them on a winning streak again. Then Stoudemire goes down with a back injury and is considering surgery, may be out into the playoffs, and now Lin goes down.
This is some sort of “Breaks of the Game” kind of stuff right here.
There’s also an injury situation with Anthony, as the groin injury he’s missed time with is bothering him again. Oh, and Tyson Chanlder is playing through problems as well.
So basically, everyone on the Knicks is hurt except Steve Novak.
The good news is that Baron Davis, coming back from a bulging disc earlier this season, is averaging 5 points, 5 assists and 3 turnovers per game for the Knicks. So they’ve got that going for them.
Carmelo Anthony, by all accounts, wanted Mike D’Antoni out so he could be the man in isolation. Without their star power forward or star point guard, he’s going to get his wish. It’s time to see exactly what Melo can give us when the chips are down for the Knicks. This has been where Anthony has played his best in the past. Can it translate to wins, though?
Lin, for his part, is thankful the injury didn’t happen earlier, since, you know, his career might have been over. From the AP:
“If this was done very early in the year, obviously ... I don’t know where my career would be. I could be, would be definitely without a job and probably fighting for a summer league spot,” Lin said. “But having said that, this happening now hurts just as much, because all the players, we really put our heart and souls into the team and into season, and to not be there when it really matters most is hard.”
