Good morning. Here's a Carmelo Anthony update. He's a player on the Knicks. His hand is still stitched up following a laceration on his left middle finger this past Wednesday. He did not participate in the Knicks' shootaround this morning in Chicago, and the beat writers in the building suspect he won't play tonight:
Just bumped into Carmelo in hallways of United Center. Since test of the team is on the court for morning shoot I'd guess he's not playing
Mike Woodson says Melo will make a game-time decision, just like he did on Friday in Miami:
Woodson says Melo is a game-time decision. Says it's Melo's decision and 'there's no need to rush'. Melo didn't workout this AM.
#Knicks
Woodson's already earned a reputation for delaying lineup clarity until the last possible second, so even if Melo had already decided to sit, I don't think he'd reveal anything. That said, perhaps Melo will, indeed, test the hand out again before tip-off to see if it's healed enough to play sports. Chicago's a much, much tougher defensive team than the Heat are these days-- particularly against the three-pointer-- so the Knicks will probably miss Melo more than they did on Friday, should he sit. Still not worth risking a reopened wound, if that's what's on the line. We shall see.