CLEVELAND – Metta World Peace is on the verge of making his first start as a Knick, with Mike Woodson owning up to one of his blunders from Sunday’s Boston fiasco.
After missing Sunday’s game with a sore left ankle, center Kenyon Martin is listed as a game-time decision for Tuesday night as the Knicks look for redemption. On Sunday, Woodson made the odd choice of going with rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. to replace Martin in a small lineup. It backfired as the Celtics roared to 12-0 and 18-1 leads en route to a 41-point rout. The Knicks couldn’t shoot or defend.
Tuesday night’s frontline is expected to look more rugged with Andrea Bargnani, World Peace and Carmelo Anthony.
Woodson has continually passed on starting World Peace this season, and just last week World Peace was out of the rotation for two straight games. But World Peace and Amar’e Stoudemire were the only guys who had any energy Sunday. World Peace also played well in the Knicks’ 38-point win against the Magic on Friday, getting him back in Woodson’s good graces.
World Peace has been even-keeled regarding his limited minutes, saying Friday he is only “thinking about winning.’’ He claims the two procedures he has undergone to drain his knee are not a factor.
“I thought in both games, the Orlando game as well, he stayed ready,’’ Woodson said. “And that’s what pros have to do. Again, you can’t play 14, 15 guys. You can’t sit and sulk because the coach hadn’t played you, because then you compound things. And he was ready to play, and that to me is a good sign. That’s why I’m putting him in the lineup tonight.’’
Asked why he has been so hesitant to start him before, Woodson said testily, “You lose a good defender in Kenyon, a good rebounder in Kenyon, he’s like Tyson [Chandler] to me. I decided to go with Tim the other day. Does that mean because we started Tim that team is 40 points better than us? Absolutely not. But tonight we’re starting Metta based on who they’re starting and we’ll see how it plays out.’’
Martin didn’t play in the Knicks’ two most embarrassing wire-to-wire blowouts: vs. San Antonio and Boston. His toughness and knack for laying a hard foul to snap momentum were missed Sunday against the Celtics.
“It was a very unfortunate situation, the Boston situation,’’ said Martin, who is dealing with a chronic ankle issue. “I would’ve loved to be a part of it. I think I could’ve helped, but I don’t want to put it on a personal level. Could I have helped the situation? I think I can help every game but who knows.’’
The Knicks host the Bulls on Wednesday, and it appears Martin may be shooting for the second leg of the back-to-back.
“This game’s important for us, but there’s a lot of games coming up,’’ Martin said. “I’m trying to make sure I’m available for them.’’
Woodson admitted not having Martin after the two 30-point blowouts stymied the Knicks’ momentum. Martin started the season on a platoon program, but convinced the Knicks to abolish it after the San Antonio rout. Martin now makes the call on when he’s ready or not.
“It’s bothering him some, his ankle, and we knew that coming into this season,’’ Woodson said. “From a coach’s standpoint, it’s tough, because I felt good the other day about having a nice rotation for two straight games and then — boom — it happens, so what are you gonna do? You gotta go with the next guy in line.”
Carmelo Anthony believes the Knicks are over Sunday’s humiliation, but he won’t know for sure until Tuesday night’s result at Quicken Loans Arena.
“[A win] will show if we put that game behind us,’’ Anthony said. “If we don’t, it shows we let it linger. But we shouldn’t be thinking about that game. I’m trying not to think about it. It’s behind us. No need to think about it. It happened. I got over it. We got over it.’’