Carmelo Anthony, star forward of the New York Knicks and one of the best players in the NBA, will need surgery this offseason on his left knee, according to the NY Daily News.
New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony has acknowledged that his knee needs surgery, but he isn’t ready to quit on this season yet.
According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Anthony said his “only option” was to have surgery to clean up his left knee, which has bothered Anthony since the second game of the season and caused him to miss eight of the Knicks 40 games.
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The Knicks are just 5-35 as they head to London to take on the Milwaukee Bucks this Thursday. The season is over for the Knicks; they aren’t making the playoffs. Why wouldn’t Anthony shut it down, get surgery, and be ready for training camp next season?
Anthony claims that’s not the type of person he is.
“But until that time I can’t sit out, I don’t feel like, you know, as a person I can’t let my team out there,” Anthony said.
Likely, Anthony, who hasn’t played since Dec. 31, also wants to play in the All-Star Game and take part in the All-Star festivities in New York and Brooklyn.
The cynic in me thinks this is the only reason Anthony wants to keep playing this season. He has an ego; he needs to play in the All-Star game in his city. That’s just the way it is.
On the other hand, maybe Anthony has turned the corner in his leadership. Maybe, Anthony sees himself as the leader of the team now and wants to prove he’s the leader by trying to play through injury. Who knows at this point?
Anthony made it clear he’s not going to keep coming back for a game here-and-there. If he’s going to play again this season, he’s going to make sure he can actually stay on the court for multiple games at a time.
Anthony also practiced for the first time yesterday and will be seeing how his knee feels prior to deciding whether or not to play in London.
“Today was actually my first practice back on the basketball court, so we’ll see how my body, how my knee responds,” he said.
The Knicks don’t play again until Thursday in London, and as Isola points out, just because Anthony is traveling to London, it doesn’t mean he’s playing whatsoever. Anthony has several charity events lined up in England, including one with Prince Harry. Then, they’re going clubbing afterwards…
I made the last part up, but it’s going to happen. You know it will.
Ultimately, Anthony’s knee injury and likely surgery is a bummer for New York Knicks fans who were hoping the Knicks would start to generate a little momentum heading into next season. The Knicks do have a top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and cap space to work with for the first time since acquiring Anthony in 2011.
(H/T NY Daily News)
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