The New York Knicks are suddenly getting plagued with injuries. The team is getting back a few players from being out, but several keys players are suddenly going down, putting a lot of important statuses in question. The Knicks are expecting to get Andrea Bargnani back into the mix, but sudden injuries to Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony and Cleanthony Early have the team lagging.
According to ESPN.com, Anthony re-aggravated a left knee injury in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The small forward told the media that he suffered the injury while scrambling for a loose ball on the court and was uncertain what his availability would be going forward. Head coach Derek Fisher downplayed the injury saying that while it was bother Anthony to play on it, it was not serious and he would simply need added tape to help fix the issue.
"The tape job that I had kind of got wet a little bit. I started feeling it a little bit after that. We cut the tape off on the bench, and I just started feeling a little bit more pain," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "It felt better once I got it retaped. It's been sore since maybe the Cleveland game. I've had some tests. I really don't know exactly what's going on with it -- I mean, I know what's going on with it. But like I said, for me it's just a matter of just not kind of thinking about and playing through it."
The injury to Anthony is highlighted even more with the injury to Iman Shumpert. The shooting guard has been on and off the court recently with a hip issues leaving two of the team's top offensive players on the bench. The good news for the Knicks is that JR Smith has stepped up to help and could see more time as a starter going forward.
The bench for the Knicks took a hit as Early has been ruled out for at least the next month of play after undergoing right knee surgery. The rookie has not seen much time on the court year this year, averaging just 2.7 points and one rebound in 7.7 minutes. However, the Knicks need depth and Early is expected to play a big role in that, so getting him healthy will be a priority.
Bargnani is set to return Saturday for the Knicks. The forward has been out with hamstring issues having yet to make his debut for the year. That will help the Knicks on the defensive end of the ball while Quincy Acy and Amar'e Stoudemire worked to take his place. Fisher believes getting Bargnani back will help make the Jets more versatile down the road.
"Whenever he's back, his versatility is huge for us on both ends of the floor," Fisher said. "I think he can guard multiple positions and offensively he can play multiple positions. He's another guy on the floor that defenses have to think about how they want to cover him. He makes the game easier for Carmelo [Anthony], J.R. [Smith], Iman [Shumpert]. So we're excited to get him back soon hopefully, and start to kind of rebuild our team again once we get some guys back out there."