Knee issue may force Knicks' Anthony to miss time

The New York Knicks' season has turned from bad to worse. 

After a 104-93 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday – the Knicks' ninth consecutive defeat – star forward Carmelo Anthony revealed persistent issues with his left knee may force him to miss some time.

Anthony received treatment on the knee after the loss, which dropped the Knicks to 4-19 on the season, and his status for Wednesday's game against the 15-6 San Antonio Spurs appears to be up in the air. He scored 17 points and hauled in eight rebounds in 39 minutes of action Tuesday. 

"It’s not getting any worse. It’s not getting any better," Anthony said, according to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. "It is what it is at this point."

Anthony, who re-upped with the Knicks on a max deal in the offseason, doesn't want to take games off due to his team's disastrous play under first-year head coach Derek Fisher. New York, off to its worst start in franchise history, is on the brink of its first 10-game losing skid since the 2005-06 season.

"The flip side to (sitting out) is we are losing games," Anthony said. "I never was a player to sit out when things are going bad – or when things are going good. I hate it. I hate to sit on the sidelines and watch my teammates going out there and battling. Now it’s a matter of sitting down with the training staff and the coaches and seeing what’s best for everybody, if it’s best for me to sit out and take some time and get it right then that’s a decision I have to make. They’re going to have to pull me out because I’m not going to make that decision."

A weak Eastern Conference leaves some hope for the Knicks that a hot stretch can get them back into the playoff race. New York, which has been one of the league's worst defensive teams on a per 100 possession basis, enters Wednesday six games behind the city's other struggling team – the 8-11 Brooklyn Nets – for the No. 8 seed.

But the long-term health of Anthony, who already missed time earlier in the year due to back spasms, should be more important. 

Anthony, averaging 22.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and shooting 45.6 percent from the field, is still owed close to $100 million for the next four seasons after this one.