The ankle, the wrist, the thumb … and the ego?
Carmelo Anthony had an array of injuries, and he has decided to shut it down until next Tuesday when the Knicks return home from their four-game road trip and play the Detroit Pistons.
Takes a little shine off tonight’s nationally televised matchup with the Heat in Miami, where the Knicks are 11-point underdogs.
For Miami, Dwyane Wade participated in the team’s shootaround and is listed as a game-time decision. Wade has missed the past six games with a sprained right ankle and has not played since Jan. 13 at Denver.
From Marc Berman of the New York Post: “With LeBron on tap tonight on national television, Carmelo Anthony has decided shut it down. Anthony will sit out tonight’s game in Miami against the Heat because of injuries to his ankle, wrist, thumb and possibly his ego. Anthony, who is shooting 39.4 percent and 34.4 percent in his last nine games, is also expected to Saturday night’s game against the Rockets. The earliest Anthony is expected back is Tuesday at the Garden against the Pistons. “At the end of the day I just got to be smart,” Anthony said. “I was trying to be a superhero. It was hurting the team. It wasn’t doing anything for me, my psyche, my body. It was making it worse. I was trying to hide it when talking to coach and my teammates. “It was hard to stay positive after I was trying to hide it and fight it but there’s only so much fight,’’ Anthony added. When James heard the news he wouldn’t be going mano-a-mano against Anthony, he said, “It (stinks).’’ Instead of taking a secondary role tonight, Anthony felt it was best not to play at all, perhaps not wanting to look like a role player against his fiercest rival and friend, James. Though he didn’t say it, Anthony may have been embarrassed by his 1-point showing vs. Charlotte earlier this week when the offense actually hummed with him focusing on passing and rebounding. Anthony has been mired in a massive shooting funk and feels his output was “taking a toll’’ on the club’s defense too. “It was one injury after another,’’ Anthony said at the morning shootaround at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena. “My ankle wasn’t getting any better. My wrist wasn’t getting any better. You guys were watching the games. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t look like myself. So we came to this decision. “It’s a long season, but it’s a short season,’’ Anthony added.