2nd April, 2012
Jeremy Lin will miss the remainder of the regular season due to a small meniscal tear in his left knee that will require surgery.
Lin will have surgery within the next few days and is expected to miss six weeks.
“It is a big blow,” said Mike Woodson. “He was starting to come as a player.”
Lin and team officials had hoped to delay surgery until after the season, but the knee did not sufficiently respond to treatment over the course of the week.
“I can’t really do much, can’t really cut or jump,” Lin said at a news conference. “So it’s pretty clear that I won’t be able to help the team unless I get this fixed right now. It’s disappointing for me. It’s hard to watch the games. And I think I want to be out there, obviously, more than anything, to help the team.”
Lin had an MRI exam this week that revealed a small, chronic meniscus tear and he has elected to have surgery next week in New York.
With the regular season ending April 26, the biggest story in basketball this season is done unless the Knicks make a deep postseason run.
Speaking slowly during a pregame press conference, Lin was unable to hide his disappointment with the decision that was reached earlier Saturday after a painful workout.
“It (stinks) not being able to be out there with the team,” he said.
Upcoming: Lin-surgery.
He was barely holding on to a place in the NBA back in February. Now, after the back-to-back Sports Illustrated covers and popularity around the world, and now it’s over.
“If this was done very early in the year, obviously … I don’t know where my career would be. I could be, would be definitely without a job and probably fighting for a summer league spot,” Lin said. “But having said that, this happening now hurts just as much, because all the players, we really put our heart and souls into the team and into season, and to not be there when it really matters most is hard.”
The Knicks will continue to turn to Baron Davis in place of Lin, the undrafted Harvard alum who became the starter in February and turned in a series of brilliant performances, kicking off a phenomenon that was called Linsanity.