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Queeniepop
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Joined: 12/29/2006
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Posted by Queeniepop:
February 28, 2007
Knicks’ Crawford Is Out for Season With Fracture
By HOWARD BECK
GREENBURGH, N.Y., Feb. 27 — The worst news of the Knicks’ season came to Isiah Thomas in two parts. First came the alarming late-night call from the team doctor after Monday’s victory against Miami. Then, 12 hours later, came the crushing words: Jamal Crawford, the Knicks’ best clutch shooter, is out for the season.
Dr. Lisa Callahan, the team’s director of player care, delivered that news to Thomas just before noon on Tuesday. Thomas unleashed a primal scream that echoed through the hallways at the team’s suburban training center.
Yes, the news was that bad. Crawford has a stress fracture in his right ankle and will almost certainly need surgery. The length of his recovery is not yet known, but the team says it expects Crawford to miss the final 24 games of the regular season.
There is a chance that Crawford could return for the playoffs, but the Knicks have to qualify first. And that quest has been dealt a severe blow.
“Believe me, we’re not going to go in the tank,” Thomas said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s a devastating injury for him personally, but I remember there was an old sign in the Boston Garden, and I remember reading it every time I went in. It said, ‘We will not be denied.’ That’s our motto, and that’s our stance right now.”
After defeating Miami on Monday — a victory that Crawford sealed with a late 3-pointer — the Knicks improved to 26-32, two games out of the playoff field in the Eastern Conference. But it will be difficult to make that final push without Crawford, their most creative scorer.
Quentin Richardson will slide from small forward to shooting guard to replace Crawford, who was averaging 17.9 points a game. Jared Jeffries will start at small forward. Thomas said he would not sign a free agent but would instead rely more heavily on the Knicks’ two youngest guards, Nate Robinson and the rookie Mardy Collins.
The news caught Thomas and the team by surprise. Crawford said the ankle had been sore for two or three weeks but that he had not considered it serious. He did not miss a game and did not seem to be affected on the court. In fact, he leapt in celebration after making his late 3-pointer Monday.
The injury was not discovered until Crawford had an X-ray after Monday’s game. The diagnosis was confirmed with a CT scan and a magnetic resonance imaging examination on Tuesday morning. Crawford said the injury was not caused by any one incident that he could recall. The surgery has not yet been scheduled, and the recovery time will depend on what type of operation is performed.
“I was devastated, especially at this point in the season,” Crawford said. “Nobody really saw this coming. I think Steph took it the hardest, though.”
Stephon Marbury has been Crawford’s backcourt mate for parts of the last three seasons, and they share an obvious chemistry. Crawford’s scoring touch, and his willingness to take the big shots, has taken a lot of pressure off Marbury late in games.
No one on the roster can replicate Crawford’s knack for making the big shots. He has hit seven game-winners in his three seasons with the Knicks. He also had a 52-point game last month against Miami. Crawford is notoriously streaky, but the Knicks rely heavily on his hot hand.
“You’re always a Jamal run away from winning a game or ending a game,” Thomas said. “And whenever you’re out of the game, he’s normally the guy that puts you back in the game.”
The Knicks have a shortage of experienced guards. Steve Francis, their only other point guard, has severe tendinitis in his right knee and may not play again this season. Robinson and Collins can handle the ball, but they are not ideally suited to run the offense. Marbury is the only veteran point guard, and he is playing with a sore knee and an injured toe.
With Jeffries in the starting lineup, the rookie Renaldo Balkman will get an increased role. Thomas may also be forced to make Channing Frye a starter again, because neither Jeffries nor Jerome James (who replaced Frye) is a scorer.
The reverberations will not end there. Crawford is close friends with center Eddy Curry and, not incidentally, is the Knicks’ best passer to Curry, the team’s leading scorer.
All four teams jockeying for the final two playoff berths are dealing with significant injuries, or already have. The Heat (27-29) is missing its best player, Dwyane Wade, who might be out for the season because of a separated shoulder. Orlando (28-30) only recently got Grant Hill, Trevor Ariza and Keyon Dooling back. The Nets (27-30) have been playing without two regular starters, Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic.
“These are challenging times, and these are pressure times,” Thomas said. “You don’t like being without one of your best players, but at the same time, it presents some opportunities for other players. It definitely becomes much more challenging for myself. We’ll rise. We’ll rise to it.”
REBOUNDS
David Lee (sprained ankle) did not practice and was considered questionable for Wednesday’s game at Boston. Isiah Thomas said he hoped Lee would play Friday against Golden State. “We’re going to need him healthy and live and vibrant, so if he has to miss one more game, so be it,” Thomas said. ... The team offered no update on Steve Francis, and Francis — who rode piggyback on Malik Rose to the locker room after practice — did not stop to speak with reporters. Francis has said he does not want to risk further injury by playing on his sore right knee. In light of Jamal Crawford’s injury, Thomas was asked if Francis might return. “He’ll have to decide what he can, and if he can do anything,” Thomas said. “But that’s always up to the player.” ... Thomas was comically uncomfortable about using the unpredictable Nate Robinson as a point guard. “God bless his soul, yes, he probably will have to,” Thomas said with a laugh. “And forgive me, Lord, for the things that I’m going to say to him.”
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2/27/2007 9:53 PM
