The scene was all too familiar. Another Knick holed up in the trainer’s room after a game, getting treated.
This time, Tyson Chandler came out of the trainer’s room in Sacramento, his right ankle wrapped in mounds of tape. He limped to his locker, dressed, spoke softly and was the last player to leave when he’s usually among the first.
“Just a sprain,’’ Chandler said.
Just? Chandler said he is not worried he will have to miss games with his ankle sprain, perhaps knowing how vital this week is with Amar’e Stoudemire returning. But, of course, it’s too early to tell. The one thing consistent about these Knicks, other than the wins, is the injuries.
“We got two key guys out [Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton] who are key to our offense and defense and we’ve had two guys out all year [Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert],’’ Chandler said. “We’re just trying to scramble right now.’’
The 1-2 West Coast Christmas trip proved costly. Felton and Anthony both suffered injuries on Christmas, with Felton (pinkie) out at least a month and Anthony (knee) out two games so far.
It’s become evident these Knicks will never become whole. But they may not have to.
“It feels good when guys do get hurt, I still feel I could win a basketball game,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. “That’s all that matters to me at the end of the day because they’re going to have injuries. I’m not going to complain about it. I will complain if I didn’t have enough talent to still go winThat’s not the case.”
* Isiah Thomas to Brooklyn?
Former WFAN host Sid Rosenberg, who has a radio show in South Florida, had Thomas as guest Friday and asked the former Knicks general manager/coach if he would be interested in the Nets’ coaching job.
Thomas answered the query in a serious manner, though the fledgling Brooklyn franchise hiring Thomas would go down as among the worst public-relations moves in sports history. Thomas, fired from his Florida International gig last spring, is an NBA TV analyst.
“Being in a position where I was president of a team and general manager, their jobs are hard enough,’’ Thomas said. “You don’t interject yourself into that conversation. You understand the sensitivity of what you might say. That’ll be a no comment.’’
Rosenberg then asked Thomas about returning to work for James Dolan’s Knicks.
“I’m not going to give you a headline on that one,’’ Thomas said. “You know if I answer that question, what happens.’’
* In the post-Felton alignment, Woodson said he would like to get Pablo Prigioni’s minutes up to 22 and take the load off new starting point guard Jason Kidd. Woodson wants to keep Kidd below 30 minutes.
In the two games without Felton, Prigioni has played 18 minutes each night. Prigioni had a terrible first half in Sacramento but came on like everyone else — notching nine assists. He finished scoreless with two turnovers. Sometimes his hesitancy to shoot when open disrupts the flow.
“This is a young, older gentleman who’s learning the NBA game,’’ Woodson said. “We’ve had him in small minutes and the small minutes have been productive for us.”He’s done a lot of things in a short period for our ballclub than you can imagine. Now his minutes might expand and he’s got to expand his game, too.