So Carmelo Anthony has some fluid buildup on the knee, but no structural damage. This is good news, and requires rest, and Mike Woodson said all the right things about this. They’re giving him room to heal, and he plans to reduce Anthony’s minute load upon return, which makes all kinds of sense. Did in January, too, when he averaged 41 per game for a month, but what’s done is done.
This lineup, though: Chandler/Thomas/Shumpert/White/Felton, well, I don’t get it. And Woodson’s argument for it appears to be: well, it’s only for a few minutes.
That’s an argument that makes sense if A) Woodson himself weren’t selecting the lineup, creating his own inconvenience and B) He had no options to score.
Let’s just say he has very important reasons for not starting J.R. Smith, who, remember, didn’t start in the preseason even though it meant starting Mychel Thompson, who you might have noticed, didn’t make the Knicks. And minutes burned at the start of the game take away from the 30 Amar’e Stoudemire is to play, total.
But what of Chris Copeland? What about Shumpert at shooting guard and Steve Novak at small forward, his threat from the perimeter creating space for Felton/Chandler to operate? What about Jason Kidd, who has finally started making threes again over the past two games?
Consider me skeptical about this lineup, and I’m wary, but interested, to see it in action.
