But how else to explain perhaps the Knicks’ most effective and dynamic two-way player throughout the playoffs having zero points and zero impact in the Knicks’ 93-82 Game 4 loss to the Pacers?
“The knee’s fine. It felt fine. I had no complaints,” said Shumpert, who played just 16 minutes after averaging 35 over his previous six playoff appearances. “If Coach (Mike Woodson) was precautionary, that’s up to him. I just go out there and play when he calls my name.”
Shumpert, who wore a sizable ice wrap on his knee whenever he was out of the game, surprisingly was in the starting lineup. After sitting out practice Monday because he experienced swelling in the knee after Game 3, Shumpert remained at the team hotel Tuesday morning instead of participating in the morning shootaround.
Woodson admitted that he was “concerned,” while revealing that the Knicks’ orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Answorth Allen, flew to Indianapolis to examine the second-year swingman.
After an MRI revealed no structural damage, Dr. Allen watched Shumpert go through warmups before clearing him to play. Shumpert, who didn’t return until January following reconstructive surgery last May, reinjured his knee when landing awkwardly after being fouled by Indiana’s George Hill in the second half of Saturday’s Game 3 loss.
“It didn’t have nothing to do with (the ACL),” Shumpert said. “We were just making sure, just safe precaution. I was fine mentally. They just wanted to make sure it was clear.”
Still, Shumpert missed all six of his shot attempts in Game 4, including five from three-point range, and he played just two minutes in the fourth quarter.
“I wish I could’ve got shots up the two days in-between the games. But I was taking time off to get my knee some rest, and that affected that,” Shumpert said. “I didn’t feel rusty... Those are shots I know I can make and I will continue to take them.”
Shumpert started at small forward instead of shooting guard as Woodson went with a bigger lineup, inserting Kenyon Martin and benching Pablo Prigioni, who played just 3:26. With Shumpert’s playing time limited, Chris Copeland logged nearly 12 minutes and scored six points, but Jason Kidd was held scoreless for the eighth consecutive game over 15:46.
“I decided to play (Shumpert) under 20 (minutes) and it had nothing to do with anything,” Woodson said. “I think we played enough guys, but we just didn’t get it done.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment