Even though he's not playing for the Knicks right now, Carmelo Anthony has been spending a lot of time with his teammates in recent weeks. He has routinely taken the court before home games to stretch. He's been a fixture in the Knicks' locker room. And while the Knicks have struggled—a lot—without him, he has seemingly continued to show support for them. However, there's one thing that he hasn't done since going down with a season-ending knee injury back in February: Sit on the Knicks' bench during games.
It's not because he doesn't want to, though. According to a New York Post report that was released early this morning, he's just afraid that he could end up re-injuring his knee between now and the end of the season if he's involved in a collision with another player while sitting on the bench. So rather than chancing it, he's reportedly decided to stay away from the sideline—and typically leaves Madison Square Garden before Knicks' games even start.
When asked about Carmelo's decision not to sit on the bench, Knicks coach Derek Fisher wouldn't reveal the reason behind it. But he said that, despite his absence during games, Carmelo has continued to communicate with his teammates.
"He's enjoying being around the group," Fisher said yesterday. "Guys are happy to see him moving around again. After being holed up in a place for a few weeks, the interaction has been good, talking about things he's seeing and observations and continuing to encourage guys to take advantage of the opportunity."
You OK with Carmelo's decision not to sit on the bench?
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[via New York Post]
