Baron Davis injures knee; Pressure mounting on New York Knicks to bring back Jeremy Lin – NBA Update
The New York Knicks barely managed to squeak past the Miami Heat on Sunday night to keep the playoff series alive, but in doing so, they lost an integral part of their backcourt in Baron Davis.
Nearly midway through the third quarter, Davis buckled his knee while dribbling toward the Miami rim. He lied down on the court for several minutes before being carried on a stretcher.
Baron’s injury is a big blow for the Knicks. The bearded PG had been doing an excellent job for the Knicks this post season. Amare Stoudemire, who made it the game-4 after a two game layoffs with an injures hand was shocked;
"I almost shed a tear on the court to be honest with you," Stoudemire said after the game "... Baron's such a great guy off the court, as a teammate. He's a phenomenal locker room guy and to see that, I dropped down to one knee
and said a prayer while he was on the ground. It was sad."
Besides losing a team guy, the Knicks now have to find a way to put some steel in the back court. At present, they have only point guard options in Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby and both have not had enough minutes this season to
make Coach Mike Woodson confident. The situation has put the coach in a quagmire and has no doubt upped the pressure on him to make a call on Jeremy Lin, the sensational one guard, who was one of the major reasons the Knicks are in the playoffs.
Lin has been off the court since March 24 due when he suffered a small meniscus tear in his left knee, which was consequently operated upon on April 2.
With the Knicks being rolled over by the Heat in every game before Sunday, there had been a lot of talk of bringing the inspirational point guard back. But despite Lin himself being very vocal about the issue, Woodson has been
cautious about the comeback.
After the game-4 win, Woodson however toed an uncertain line again;
"He'll get back into the gym (Monday) talk to the doctors about where he is physically," Woodson said. "We'll make some decisions before we get on the plane and head to Miami."
With Davis sure to miss out Wednesday night’s Game-5 in Miami, the possibility of Lin returning to the floor has however increased and Woodson might just take the gamble.
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