Steve Nash says he still isn’t even in the process of jogging yet, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles: “I can’t jog yet so … I don’t think so,” Nash said when asked if he thought there was a chance he could play Tuesday, after being re-evaluated by the Lakers team doctors on Monday. Nash said that his leg, which was injured in a freak play when he banged knees with Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard on Oct. 31, has been “progressing a little bit” recently…”Hopefully it’s something that resolves soon,” Nash said. “Nobody really knows because it’s not like tissue or bone. It’s painful. It’s under control right now, but it’s still very sensitive so it can flare up. We just need to let the nerves settle down.”
Lin believes he and Carmelo Anthony could have worked if they were given more time, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “I think, yeah, throughout time,” Lin said on Thursday. “You’ve got to think about stuff in terms of perspective and I think there’s a lot of teams out there — Miami or other teams in the past — that have gone on to win championships that didn’t look pretty in their first 10 games and they definitely didn’t look pretty in their first season together. It’s tough to say, but [Anthony] really wanted to make it work I felt. He was trying to do everything to find a balance to both [players’] different styles… We tried to make it work,” Lin said. “We just didn’t have enough time.”
- In the same article, Lin praised Raymond Felton’s impact on the Knicks: “Raymond Felton, whom the Knicks acquired in a trade over the summer shortly before deciding not to match Houston’s “poison pill” offer sheet, has thrived for the 8-2 Knicks. He’s averaging 15.7 points, 6.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. Felton’s also shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc. “I think he is a great fit for them,” Lin said of Felton. “I think he’s really good. I think he came back really motivated this year and he’s playing really well. He deserves a lot of that credit.”
Felton can’t see how he can be compared to Lin, saying he is the more experienced of the two. Steve Popper of The Record has the story: “I could care less about what he’s got going on, what he’s doing in Houston,” Felton said. “I don’t even follow what he’s been doing. My thing is to come out for another game and get a win. That’s all I’m thinking about. “I definitely can’t see how somebody can compare me and him together. I’ve been in this league way longer, got much more of a body of work. He had a great run last year, one of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m glad he got his money. I’m glad he had a lot of success. That part I would never hate on him about. But to compare me and him? We’re two different people, two different players.”
- Carmelo Anthony reiterated what he meant when he called Jeremy Lin’s contract ridiculous over the summer, from Brian Mahoney of The AP:
Melo says he was talking about the structure, not $, which is how I took it when he said it to my question in July and repeated to me later.
@briancmahoney
Brian Mahoney
He also stated that Lin doesn’t have to deal with pressure now, from Fran Blinebury of NBA.com: “It was Anthony’s return to the lineup from injury last season that brought an end to the “Linsanity” and it was supposedly Anthony who didn’t want to share the spotlight or the ball with him. “I don’t have no problem with him,” Anthony said. “That was my teammate. He’s a cool guy. I don’t have no problem with him as a person. “I don’t think he’s playing with any pressure at all. All the pressure was when he was in New York. I don’t think he’s facing any pressure.”
Mike Woodson has always thought that Jeremy Lin is a backup point guard, according to Frank Isola of Daily News: “Maybe in the end the question wasn’t whether Carmelo Anthony could have coexisted with Jeremy Lin, but whether Mike Woodson could have accepted Lin as his starting point guard. According to a person close to the Knicks’ head coach, Woodson always thought of Lin as more of a backup than a starter. The thinking was that Woodson, who prefers a pure playmaking point guard, felt Lin shot too much. In fact, that was Woodson’s belief as far back in February at the height of “Linsanity,” when the Knicks were winning seven straight games with Lin running the offense and Mike D’Antoni coaching the team.”