COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Knicks’ season did not implode yesterday. Eddy Curry – who injured his shoulder Friday during a drill – is expected to be back for the opener in Cleveland on Nov. 2.
An MRI revealed Curry has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and the team indicated he’ll be out about two weeks.
That means he could miss five of their seven exhibition games, including last night’s preseason-opening 101-92 victory over the Sixers at the University of South Carolina campus. But that’s nothing compared to what might have been.
“I think it’s definitely good news,” Curry said at the morning shoot-around. “Going in, we were just hoping the rotator cuff was healthy. It was. It was unharmed, so it’s definitely good news.”
The Knicks won’t set a timetable until today, after team orthopedist Dr. Answorth Allen studies the MRI. The Knicks want to confirm that local doctors didn’t miss anything and that surgery is not required – their belief now.
“If this is going to be a long-term thing, yeah [it hurts],” coach Isiah Thomas said. “But if [he’s] going to miss a couple of weeks and we’re going to fall apart in a couple of weeks, then we shouldn’t be doing this.”
Curry claimed it was “very realistic” he could be ready next Wednesday in Boston, but that’s a big stretch. It’s not his decision. The Knicks’ medical staff plan to be extra cautious, especially in the wake of rushing back David Lee and Quentin Richardson last season and allowing Jamal Crawford to play with a stress fracture.
Zach Randolph made a sharp debut last night with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. But he may not see much time with Curry.
“He’s got to get right,” Randolph said of Curry. “That’s the most important thing. He’s not going to be out for no month. We definitely want to get chemistry … but it’s preseason.”
Curry had his anxious moment late Sunday night in the hospital.
“When I first was in there with them, when they were reading the MRI and they said a tear, I had a look on my face like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Curry said. “But they explained it to me. Now it’s just about trying to rehab it.”
Thomas said he’s not worried about the postponement of the Randolph/Curry wedding.
“They’ve played basketball before, so I don’t think that I’m introducing that new of a technique or scheme to them,” Thomas said. “They’re used to operating in that area. I’m sure they’ll find their way.”
Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, who coached Randolph in Portland, admitted he wasn’t thrilled having him in the Atlantic Division.
“I know he’s a good player,” said Cheeks, who claims he never had an off-the-court problem with Randolph. “Putting Eddy on one block, Zach on the other, it’s going to be tough coverage. We’ll have our work cut out.”
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Sixers exec Larry Brown, nattily attired in a black suit, frostily greeted two Knicks writers and hastily moved upstairs to a suite, declining to talk.
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Randolph, starting at center, didn’t do his damage on the low block. He made his first six shots, but that included five jumpers, three from 18 feet and beyond.
“I felt real good,” said Randolph, who had five boards in 25 minutes. “I’ve been doing it in Portland, but a lot of people don’t see it because it’s West Coast.”
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David Lee added 18 points, powering to the basket, starting at power forward because of the Curry injury. First-round rookie Wilson Chandler was a bright spot, blocking a shot, soaring in on a baseline drive for a mammoth dunk and draining a corner 3. Chandler had nine points, six boards in 19 minutes.