Mike Woodson says he is worried about the status of Anthony and the Knicks in general, from Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “”When a key guy goes down that’s a big piece, a major piece to your puzzle, sure you’ve got to worry,” Woodson said Thursday on ESPN New York 98.7 FM. “There’s no doubt I’m worried. There’s no doubt that I’m worried about Carmelo. But I’m worried about our team as a whole with how we’re playing. Coming out of that Utah game at home these past two games have been a nightmare for all of us.”… “There’s some concern simply because we are a little beat up,” Woodson said of the Knicks’ standing in the Atlantic. “The season’s not going to wait on us and other teams are not going to say, ‘I feel sorry for the New York Knicks.’
- Anthony’s status is questionable for the next game against the Clippers, from Howard Beck of The New York Times:
Carmelo Anthony had his knee drained in NY. Will rejoin Knicks in LA. Questionable for Sunday's game vs Clippers.
@HowardBeckNYT
Howard Beck
The specific description from Knicks: Anthony "had a soft tissue fluid collection of his posterior right knee aspirated."
@HowardBeckNYT
Howard Beck
Translation on Carmelo's knee: No structural damage. No arthritic condition.
@HowardBeckNYT
Howard Beck
ESPN suspended Bill Simmons from using twitter for a while, from Deadspin: “ESPN has suspended Simmons from Twitter for a few days after he called the Skip Bayless-Richard Sherman First Take meltdown last week awful and embarrassing. An ESPN source told me that the tweets violated ESPN’s social media guidelines; Simmons was told to lie low for a few days. He hasn’t tweeted since Tuesday Monday, and he’ll apparently be allowed to return to Twitter tomorrow, making it a three-day hiatus. An ESPN spokesman declined comment, and Simmons didn’t respond to an email.”
Does Tony Allen think the Grizzlies are better after the Rudy Gay trade? Here are his thoughts, from Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: “Tony Allen seems to think Memphis is better without Rudy Gay. Allen referred to Gay as “the guy that we traded.” When asked why the Memphis Grizzlies have been playing better in recent weeks, Tony Allen had this to say: “Well, I just think we turned into the team that we were two years ago, without the guy that we traded. Obviously, we’ve made some additions, but for the most part we’re the same team from that 2010-11 season. Just Grit and Grind, in and out basketball. Everybody playing hard, playing together.”
Charles Barkley says he would not risk paying Andrew Bynum anything, from John N. Mitchell of The Inquirer: “They are in a dilemma now,” Barkley said by phone Thursday. “I wouldn’t give Andrew Bynum any money if I’m running the team. I’m not going to take that chance.”… “I’m not going to give a guy that is already hurt money unless they can work out an incentive-laden contract,” Barkley said. “I’m not giving $15-$20 million a year for a guy who hasn’t played all year. You are eating up valuable salary cap if you give him a long-term deal.”
John Wall ranked himself as one of the top five, top 10 points guards in the league, from Michael Scotto of RealGM: “Well, it’s me, I put myself on the top. I mean that’s just how competitive I am,” Wall told RealGM. “I put myself somewhere in the top five, top 10. I mean there’s a lot of talented point guards out there. I feel like when I’m at my best is when I’m playing freely with confidence, not worrying about anything, and just going out there and playing basketball. It’s kind of tough because I’ve missed most of the season this year, but I think we’ve been doing a great job this year since I’ve been back and just trying to see how many wins we can get as a team.”
