Carmelo Anthony expects to be in the Knicks’ lineup Wednesday against Orlando, but Jeremy Lin was less committal about returning after missing Monday’s game with a sore knee.
“It’s day-to-day, so we’ll see how it goes, but it feels better than (Monday),” Lin said at a speaking engagement for Steiner Sports, with whom he has a memorabilia deal, in midtown Tuesday night. “The guys have been working all season so they’ll be ready. We’ve had guys missing before and have been OK. That’s the beauty of depth and we have some.
“Hopefully now we can show it more than ever.”
The Knicks need as many healthy bodies as possible with star forward Amar’e Stoudemire out indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back and Jared Jeffries also sidelined with a knee injury.
Anthony, whom the Knicks listed as questionable after tweaking his groin in Monday’s win over Milwaukee, said in an ESPN radio interview that he expects to be available “for sure” against the Magic.
Lin, who has taken a pounding from opponents in recent weeks, called his injury “wear and tear, mostly.” Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis moved into the starting backcourt Monday, with Anthony taking over for Stoudemire at power forward and Landry Fields shifting to small forward.
“Earlier in the year I know a lot of people had a question about our depth . . . but then when guys were out before, we showed we can do the job,” Steve Novak said. “We’ve tried to be as consistent as we can through the whole year knowing there’s going to be injuries because of the schedule.
“When we’ve had guys out, it was huge for our team’s growth the way guys responded and played, and just getting the opportunity to be out there more. This is once again one of those times where guys need to step up and fill those roles.”
