Tyson Chandler suffering from flu; May miss Saturday’s game against Miami Heat – NBA Update
New York Knicks centre and the man responsible for making the franchise one of the top defensive sides in the league this season, Tyson Chandler, has contracted a flu and it is likely that he will miss out on the game-1 of the
first round playoff series against the mighty Miami Heat.
Mike Woodson, the interim head coach of the Knicks revealed on Friday that there is a strong possibility of Chandler not playing the game on Saturday;
"Yesterday, he basically slept and didn't eat much and tried to keep as much fluids in him as possible," Woodson said. "We'll know more tomorrow."
The series is already being tipped as a tough task for the Knicks, and Tyson’s absence can turn out to be a body blow. Chandler has been at the heart of the Knicks defense throughout the season and his absence will mean that the
Knicks will lose the only advantage they have over the Heat, that of the size.
Miami are perhaps the most undersized contenders for the NBA championship and throughout the season, elite teams have worked out the Heat in that department. Chandler, winner of the NBA Championship with Dallas Mavericks last season
against Miami, knows all about that and his presence would be pivotal in the series.
In his absence, the only option Knicks have, comes in the form of Jared Jeffries, but he is also nursing a knee injury and the lone choice Woodson might be left with is to play an undersized team, much to the advantage of Heat.
Without a dominant presence on the glass, the Knicks would not be able to stop the fast paced cut throat offense of the heat, especially from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Even if the Knicks somehow manage to match Miami in the scoring department, without Chandler, they will struggle to claim the offensive rebounds and that means lesser second chance points.
Carmelo Anthony however was hopeful that Chandler will be able to recover on time;
"He's a little ill, but he'll be with me tomorrow. We don't really care about today. As long as he's with me tomorrow, we'll be fine," Anthony said.
Carmelo will be hoping that he is right, because if he isn’t, come Saturday night, the Heat are going to run riot at the American Airlines Arena, Miami.
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