New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony has been bothered by lingering pain in his knees, but he may be back on the court again soon. Anthony left the team on Wednesday to have fluid drained from his right knee in New York. On Friday, he rejoined the squad in Los Angeles and is now listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Clippers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Carmelo Anthony injury update: Knicks star rejoins team, questionable for Sunday
Carmelo Anthony had fluid drained from his right knee on Wednesday, and now he’s back with the team and he could be on the court again soon.
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Head coach Mike Woodson spoke with Anthony after the procedure, and he later laid out a vague plan for how the Knicks will reincorporate the talented scorer into the lineup during a radio interview (via the New York Post):
“I was [worried], but I spoke to him after he got his knee drained and he felt pretty good about it, so I feel good,” Woodson said. “He’s going to be fine once we get him rehabbed and get him back on the floor, I think he is going to be OK.
“I feel good. He didn’t say when he’s going to be ready but I’m just assuming he’ll be ready soon. It wasn’t anything majorly wrong with it. We just got to nurse him back.”
The Knicks lost again on Thursday night, as they played without Anthony and defensive anchor Tyson Chandler, so the team will likely feel pressure to get both players back into the flow as soon as possible. New York is currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, but they are losing ground to the Pacers and now the Brooklyn Nets are just one game back in the standings.
When Woodson was asked if he knew what doctors believed caused the fluid buildup -- most of the time fluid buildup in the knee is indicative of cartilage damage -- he offered this response (via the NY Post): “They didn’t find anything. They got it drained. They found fluid on his knee and they took it off.” Woodson added that Carmelo will only practice with the team on Saturday if the knee responds well.
Anthony has now missed four of the team’s last six games. He has scored 22.1 points per game on 36.1 percent shooting and grabbed 4.6 rebounds in his last 10 performances, which is a lower level of production compared to his season averages of 27.5 points on 43.6 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds per contest.
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