The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers have played a tough series in the NBA playoffs so far and with the Knicks down 2-1 heading into Game 4 at Indiana on Tuesday night, the team will need to be at its best to win, but they may be without its best defensive player.
According to ESPN.com, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert may miss Game 4 after dealing with some soreness in his left knee, forcing him to miss practice on Monday. The team and coach Mike Woodson said that it was likely that he will play, there is a chance that he could miss the game while dealing with too much pain. J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin also sat out due to illness, but chances are they will play on Tuesday night in Indiana.
Woodson said that Shumpert could be a game time decision depending on how he feels and the player said the soreness had to do with a fall in Game 3 and was not related to his knee surgery. Shumpert missed time after dealing with surgery last year and he banged the knee on Saturday in the 82-71 loss that saw the Pacers dominant defensively. The surgery last year helped fix a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Smith has been off all series since falling ill and Martin contracted the same symptoms which is why the two sat out practice. The Bulls are playing the Heat in Game 4on Monday night and Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich may still end up being out for the team.
