Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jose Barea, left, of Puerto Rico, drives on Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in the second quarter during an NBA basketball game on Monday, March 12, 2012, in Phoenix. (AP)
Lin-Less Knicks Face Big Challenge
What a tough week for the New York Knicks.
While the Knicks went 3-1 including a blow-out win over Orlando, more bad news filled The Garden on Saturday night with word that Jeremy Lin would be missing the rest of the regular season undergoing arthroscopic surgery. This will keep him out of action for about six weeks.
Lin was riding the bench and the Knicks were 8-15 when he came to the rescue, saved Mike D'Antoni's job before he stepped down and turned around the Knicks' season.
Now the Knicks are back to step one as the point guard position will revolve throughout the remainder of the season. Baron Davis has done a good job since returning and backing up Lin but he can't log 30 plus minutes a night. Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas were banished under the D'Antoni regime and now will get more playing time. Add Carmelo Anthony to the mix, who initiated the Knicks offense before Linsanity took over the NBA.
Knicks hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and it's theirs to lose. The closest team to New York is Milwaukee, who's 2 1/2 games behind but still trying to gel with the addition of Monta Ellis.
Bellator 63
Barea Still Out For Depleted Timberwolves
Minnesota's J.J. Barea has not played since bruising his thigh during a game on March 23 at Oklahoma City in which he became the first Latin-American born player to post a triple-double.
The T-Wolves have just been ravaged by injuries and their playoff hopes are slipping away as they've lost five of their last seven and are 3 1/2 games behind Houston for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.
Barea has missed last five games and could be back on the court Wednesday at. Minnesota is also missing center Nikola Pekovic and Michael Beasley.
The Puerto Rican point guard who is in his first season with the Timberwolves said Friday that he couldn’t run without feeling discomfort.
"I can't run yet, so I've got to make sure I can run first before I can go on the trip," Barea told reporters.
Kansas and Kentucky Advance to Title Game
Gasol's Pain-Free After Back-To-Back
Marc Gasol made his return to the Memphis Grizzlies lineup Friday night at Houston in what was the start of a tough seven games in nine days stretch.
The Spaniard had a strong showing against the Rockets, shooting 7 of 16 from the field, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 38 minutes. Gasol had played in every game of the season until missing last Tuesday's game against Minnesota because of a sore right ankle.
He followed that up effort with 13 points and 15 rebounds in a win Saturday at Milwaukee.
It's Memphis' turn for the brutal back-to-back-to back that almost every team in the league has had to deal with due to the short season. They're on the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, the second best team in the league, tonight. The Grizzlies then host Golden State tomorrow and are at Dallas on Wednesday night to take on the defending champs. They'll go to Miami on Friday night and got the Mavs at home Saturday.
Best Sports Pix of the Week
Buck Missing Delfino
Milwaukee forward Carlos Delfino thought it was something minor as he gingerly walked out the locker room in New York last Monday night.
That hasn’t been the case as Delfino has now missed his last three games with a groin injury.
Delfino is listed as day-to-day.
Adry Torres, who has covered MLB, NFL, NBA and NCAA basketball games and related events, is a regular contributor to Fox News Latino. He can be reached at elpiloto137@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @adrytorresnyc.
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