Are the NY Knicks and Carmelo Anthony Lying to Us?

After having his knee drained of fluid, Melo said that the buildup was related to a hamstring injury, which Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News just wouldn’t have you believe:

The diagnosis Anthony provided at the morning shootaround — the first time he had talked to the media since going back to New York Thursday to have his knee drained and to get to the bottom of what caused the buildup of fluid — seemed dubious, at best.

A hamstring pull?

That might be a first in medical history, since orthopedic surgeons usually find a problem inside the knee when fluid is found. Usually it’s a cartilage tear. Or maybe a Baker’s cyst, the kind they found in Amar’e Stoudemire’s left knee back in October. Sometimes, it’s the on-set of an arthritic condition.

But a bad hammy? C’mon.

My problem here isn’t necessarily with Lawrence’s doubt. The Knicks are notorious for withholding information (see Jeremy Lin last season) and downplaying Melo’s injury in an attempt to preserve city-wide morale isn’t past them.

My problem is then behind the logic of his inquiry. Why would Anthony jeopardize his entire career by playing now? He may not want teams to know that he has an arthritic condition, but that’s the kind of injury that will inevitably rear its ugly head either way. It’s not like he can hide it forever.

Lawrence also jumps around on his take. For the first half, he’s almost defending Anthony, as if he’s the victim of a candid Knicks medical staff. Then he goes on to berate him for not playing. Kobe Bryant played after he had his knee drained in the 2010 playoffs, and Dwyane Wade did the same in 2012.

Here, he’s implying that Anthony is taking his “sweet time” and milking this injury for all it’s worth. To which, I ask: Couldn’t he and the Knicks just be taking precautions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo2cGQna-p8

Ignorant though New York may seem, the team isn’t about to jeopardize the future of its best player. If the Knicks were indeed concerned about Anthony’s knee, it would make sense that they’re holding him out just to see how it responds.

Let’s not get caught up in the “will to win” comparisons Lawrence is attempting to draw here either. Again, Melo isn’t the toughest of athletes in today’s game, but we have no business comparing his situation to that of Kobe or Wade’s.

They played after having their knees drained, we get it. Good for them. But they also had those drained during the playoffs, when it was win or go home. New York is locked in a battle for its division and a top four seed in the Eastern Conference, but this isn’t the playoffs.

Had the Knicks’ matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers or Utah Jazz been a playoff game, and Melo felt he could play, he would have played. Right now, though, it’s about getting and subsequently keeping him healthy for the postseason.

We can question the authenticity behind Anthony’s diagnosis and New York’s lack of transparency all we want, but to lodge an inquiry into Melo’s will to win or the Knicks’ motivation to “lie” to the superstar himself is beyond absurd.

“At one point, Anthony said, ‘The altitude ain’t helping,'” Lawrence writes.

To be honest, the nonsensical conjecture isn’t helping either.