TURNING POINT
Knicks face tough push for playoffs
The news on Jeremy Lin came down hard on Saturday afternoon. Torn meniscus in his left knee, arthroscopic surgery early next week, followed by rehab. Gone for six weeks. Linsanity is over. And on Jeremy Lin Poster Night at the Garden at that.
It was as jarring as the news on Amar’e Stoudemire and the bulging disc in his back on Tuesday. Stoudemire is out for 2-4 weeks.
The Knicks’ playoff hopes took another big hit. And with two of their top three scorers sidelined through the end of the regular season, you can best describe them as dim right now.
“You talk about this season, it’s been ups and downs. A lot of downs and a lot of ups,’’ said Lin, whose demeanor matched the damp, gray spring day in Manhattan.
It was a sudden end to a fantastic phenomenon that was one of the best things to happen to the Knicks this season, perhaps in the last 10 years.
Lin was the bolt out of the blue — a Roy Hobbs in sneakers who gave the Knicks hope when there was very little. And even after things slid sideways before Mike D’antoni walked out the door, Lin added some stability to the resurgence under interim coach Mike Woodson.
“It’s disappointing for me. It’s hard to watch the game,’’ said Lin, who watched Saturday night’s 91-75 victor y over the Cavs from the bench in his Knicks warmups. “I would want to be out there more than anything to help the team. Obviously it’s a six-week rehab time, so hopefully I can come back to help the team as soon as possible and contribute this season if possible.’’
That will depend upon whether the Knicks (27-26) make the playoffs and are still playing once Lin finishes his rehab. Even then it seems unlikely that he will be in playing shape, having been on the shelf for a month and a half with a bad knee.
Woodson’s job just got harder. He had been preaching a message of accountability to the players, aggressive intensity on defense and playing with energy and zest. The players bought into it. They were doing it.
Now that they want to play with that kind of gusto, they don’t have enough healthy bodies to do so. It seems to be the curse of the Knicks. Once they discover a good thing, bad things undermine the team.
There are only so many body blows a team such as the Knicks can absorb. The once-deep bench is stretched thin. Good thing they had Cleveland (17-33), which has now lost 10 of its last 11. The Cavs, playing without rookie point guard sensation Kyrie Irving, were just as turnoverprone and as errant from the field as were the Knicks.
The Knicks increased their lead over Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the East to 2½ games. How long they can hang on depends on how well they can absorb and roll with the injuries. Carmelo Anthony, their main scoring option, is playing with a sore groin. Center Tyson Chandler is playing with a tweaked groin as well. Jared Jeffries is still out with inflammation in his knee.
Woodson tried to put a happy face on the dire news about Lin before Saturday night’s victory.
“We’ve got to go on,’’ Woodson said. “He’s a big piece of our puzzle and what we were doing of late before he went down. We’re going to have to make do until he’s able to get back into uniform. But it is a big blow.’’
It is the state of affairs in the NBA, whose lockout-shortened season has wreaked havoc with rosters because of injuries. The grind is wearing down teams. No one is immune.
“Your body and your mind are programmed to go from July to September in terms of workouts to get ready for training camp,’’ said Cavs coach Byron Scott. “A lot of these guys shut it down in October because there was no end in sight for the lockout. Once they knew it was about to end, they had a week to get ready and I think it’s beginning to take a toll on a lot of guys.”
Scott has his own injuries to deal with. He has been playing without Anderson Varejao (fractured wrist), whom he called the team’s heart and soul and he is now without Irving.
Lin’s future, once so bright, is now clouded. He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season who will be coming off surgery to repair his knee. He said he hasn’t thought about the future.
“It’s not like a career-ending thing,” he W said. “Once it’s fixed, it’s fixed.’’ here would he have been if this had happened to him before Linsanity had gripped New York?
“I would definitely be without a job and fighting for a summer-league spot,” he said. “But having said that, this happening now hurts just as much because all the players, we put our heart and soul into the team, and to not be there at the end when it matters the most is hard.”