New York Knicks forward injures forearm in loss to Raptors.
With just four days until the NBA All-Star game this Sunday, Carmelo Anthony now doubts his chances of making the big game.
The six-time All-Star suffered the injury early in the first quarter of play, yet continued to play, albeit at a reduced level of production, scoring just 12 points.
After the game he spoke to ESPN to address the injury and his status for Sunday.
“I’m not going to force it, definitely not going to force it,” Anthony said.
“As bad as I would want to play in the All-Star Game, participate, if I can’t go, I can’t go. Nothing I can do about that.”
It is a clear indication that Anthony is concerned with the injury and does not want to further aggravate it.
The All-Star game is a nice reward for players who have been playing at an elite level during the season, something which the 28 year-old has certainly been doing. It may be wise for Carmelo to take the decision to sit this one out and fully recover from this injury.
His value to the Knicks is huge, and he can’t afford to risk the team’s chances of the playoffs just to participate in a game that has no relevance to him, and one that he will attend plenty more times during his career.
It is clear how badly the Knicks need Anthony to be fully fit for the team to succeed. The former first round pick in 2002 was averaging 29 points before Wednesday night, but a drop off in production let the Knicks slip to a 92-88 defeat against the Toronto Raptors.
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