The latest crippling blow to the wounded Knicks is the loss of Tyson Chandler to a left knee injury. In the first minute of last night’s game, he collided with Gerald Wallace and crashed to the floor. On crutches after the game and headed for an MRI today, Chandler thinks it’s a sprain, not a tear. Stay tuned…
Already without Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith, waiting for Marcus Camby’s calf to heal and for Rasheed Wallace to get in shape, the Knicks relied heavily on rookie Chris Copeland (16 PTS in 37 minutes) and venerable Kurt Thomas (4 PTS in 23 minutes) to win the game in overtime. Ronnie Brewer looked better in his second start, scoring 12 points in 20:36, and 35-year-old rookie Pablo Prigioni had 11 assists as the backup PG.
Brooklyn got 22 from Deron Williams, the only starter in double figures, but the Nets shot barely 40% as a team and used a 13-man rotation, so let’s say it wasn’t their maximum effort. Though it’s listed as a home game, it was in Long Island, not their new arena.
Other October 24 Games
HOU @ NOH: We are still waiting for the “real” Jeremy Lin to join the Rockets. The current impostor shot 1-8 and had more TO (6) than AST (5) in 30 minutes. His teammates played well enough to win the game, with Terrence Jones particularly impressive. Starting at PF for Patrick Patterson (quad), the rookie from Kentucky scored 15 points and grabbed 9 boards. Shaun Livingston was the backup PG as Toney Douglas didn’t play, and Greg Smith hit all four of his shots in 11:33 as the backup C.
There were three bright spots in the losing effort for New Orleans. Greivis Vasquez had a double-double (13 PTS, 11 AST, though 8 TO is a bit careless) and Anthony Davis played an energetic 38 minutes. The best news is Ryan Anderson finding the range on 5 of 7 attempts from 3-point land, for 23 points and 8 rebounds. Even if he doesn’t start, he’ll be the Hornets’ leading scorer until Eric Gordon (knee) returns. Rookie Darius Miller started at SG and may be on the verge of a larger role.