Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert is now going to be dealing with the same thing as Giants rookie Prince Amukamara — getting hurt at the start of his rookie year and hurting his development.
Shumpert, an impressive first-round pick, suffered a sprained right MCL in yesterday’s 106-104 season-opening victory over the Celtics. He figures to miss between 2 to 4 weeks, and assuming it’s the latter, the month-long absence will mean he’ll miss about 15 games.
“Just got to be tough mentally. Those guys were telling me, ‘It’s a long season. There are bumps in the road,’ ” said Shumpert, who got hurt with 57.7 seconds left in the third quarter. “I’ve got to get through it.”
Shumpert’s absence will hurt both his own progression and the Knicks’ rotation. True, backup point guard Mike Bibby (back spasms) did not play yesterday, but still, through three quarters, Shumpert had logged the most minutes of any Knicks reserve (22:02). The Knicks bench is thin, and despite his inexperience, Shumpert is important.
“He does a lot for us,” Landry Fields said. “He’s an intricate part of our offense and defense.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni said Bibby would be returning, which will help with the guard minutes off the bench. Still, the Knicks don’t have any other guards on the roster beyond Bibby, Shumpert and starters Fields and Toney Douglas. So the team could end up having to push Douglas to more minutes or possibly go big with Bill Walker or Renaldo Balkman alongside Douglas, Fields or Bibby.
Shumpert, who was limping after the game, finished with 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting in his debut, adding four rebounds. He scored his three hoops in three different ways — a drive (plus a foul), a putback of his own miss and a mid-range jumper. He missed his only 3-pointer, but hit all five of his free throws.
The MCL sprain occurred when Shumpert said “somebody fell into my knee.” He was carried off the court and said he was worried the injury was more severe. X-rays were negative, and Shumpert is not scheduled to undergo an MRI exam.
As a second-year man, Fields knows what it’s like to be a rookie. How tough is it to make up for time lost?
“I don’t even look at him as a rookie, to be honest,” Fields said. “He’s come so far from training camp to now. What he brings to us is something that not a lot of people do. I’m not worried about him at all. I know he’ll get right back on it.”