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World of Pain

Hey, it wouldn't be Knicks basketball if there weren't some injuries to talk about, right? We've got some promising news and some surprising bad news on that very front. Let's start with the good stuff.

From the Daily News:

The original diagnosis called for David Lee to be sidelined for "days, not weeks," which sounded reassuring back in February. But those days eventually totaled 135, and after months of confusion and frustration, Lee is finally playing basketball again.

"Today was the first day I've actually played with contact and getting the full scrimmage in five-on-five," Lee said yesterday after training with the Knicks' summer league team at Valley High School. "It (Lee's sore right leg) responded very, very well. I didn't have any pain. I'm not trying to windmill on people and stuff like that, but I'm still playing above the rim right now and sprinting up and down the court feeling good."

Great news all around. He goes on to say that he's comfortable with his spot the team and is willing to play what ever role Isiah asks. Good trooper. We all knew that.

But then, at the very bottom of the article, comes this:

The Knicks announced yesterday that Mardy Collins had surgery on his left knee six weeks ago.

Say what now? I need more information. From Newsday:

Yet another Knicks player is on the mend this offseason, and the organization kept it quiet until yesterday. There's really no major conspiracy - Mardy Collins had some routine arthroscopic surgery to "clean out" his left knee six weeks ago. But considering the medical staff's busy year with Quentin Richardson (back surgery), Jamal Crawford (ankle fracture), Jared Jeffries (wrist fracture) and David Lee (vaguely labeled sore right leg injury), you can see why the Knicks weren't eager to announce another medical issue with one of their players.

Collins, who said the knee had bothered him since college, started running last week and practiced here with the Knicks' summer league team. But it's unlikely the second-year guard will play in any of the five games this week.

"You can see why the Knicks weren't eager to announce another medical issue"? What? Don't they have to announce this kind of thing? The Knicks' medical staff creeps me out. I'm worried now that Marbury has chlamydia, Curry had his left leg amputated in June, or Crawford has been dead for 3 weeks, and we won't find out until later in the summer. Between Lee's leg, Crawford's stress fracture, and now Mardy's scoped knee, I'm not pleased with the truthfulness or immediacy of New York's trainers. We deserve to know the truth right on time, dammit.

Anyway, it's good to know that Lee's doing well, and I never had any doubts that he would take the Randolph trade in stride. I wouldn't be surprised if Collins is out for longer than we expected, just because I believe nothing I hear anymore. The good news is that the Knicks could survive while he rehabs. I'm praying for health all around, though. In fact, I might actually start kneeling and praying by my bedside. Why not?