Carmelo Anthony missed their game against the Chicago Bulls, and the New York Knicks superstar admitted that he is being advised to rest for a few weeks because of his ailing knee.
Anthony has been bothered by knee soreness since the second game of the 2014-15 NBA season, but the All-Star forward insisted that it is hard for him to sit out games, considering the Knicks' poor start this season.
"I have multiple people say kind of just shut it down," Anthony said via ESPN. "Or just take time off. But at the end of the day, it's hard for me to just do that right now in the midst of what's happening with the team and this season. So just trying to be smart about that."
Anthony said that his knees started bothering him again after their 107-87 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. The former Syracuse standout did not practice on Wednesday, and eventually decided to rest on Thursday's game against the Bulls.
Anthony, who is averaging 23.4 points to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season, admitted that he is unsure until when his knee will hold up, but he insisted that undergoing surgery is his last option.
"Some days it feels like I can go. Some days it feels like I have everything," Anthony said. "The other day it was a little sore in the first half and I didn't have no lift in my shot, and in the second half the lift came back a little bit. It's going to be off and on like that."
Playing in their first full season under team president Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher, the Knicks are currently in 14th place in Eastern Conference standings with their 5-23 card.
Their losing record is creating talks about Anthony's winning mentality with some fans calling the 30-year-old a "loser," but the 11-year veteran said that he is not thinking about.
"Everybody has an opinion," Anthony told New York Post. "Everybody knows it all. They think they know you. You kind of become what the back page says you are. That's messed up. I think just going through it, and you've seen the worst of the worst."
