Carmelo Anthony Says Right Knee Feels Good After Draining

The New York Knicks are expected to welcome Carmelo Anthony back into the lineup tomorrow night against the Orlando Magic. Melo, who has sat out the last three games, says his recently-drained right knee feels good as new. Per the NY Post: “Anthony, who sat out his third straight game last night as the Knicks beat the Jazz 90-83 in the West Coast trip finale, revealed the fluid buildup that affected him for nearly a month — often a sign of cartilage damage — came from a strained hamstring he sustained earlier this season. ‘I feel better, much better. It’s gone — night and day,’ Anthony said of the stiffness. ‘I can feel the difference. Just being able to move laterally. Jump. Hopefully [I can] get back to what I was doing.’ Anthony, who spoke after doing intense shooting drills at Energy Solutions Arena with shooting coach Dave Hopla, has missed six of the last eight games with the right-knee issue. Anthony said that on Thursday, the day of the procedure, he was still not feeling quite right. The day after, he said he felt like a new man. On Saturday, during the Knicks’ practice at UCLA, Anthony realized he wasn’t quite ready to play. ‘Since the day after, I’ve felt it was back to normal,’ Anthony said. ‘It’s just getting the pop and power back in the knee.’ Anthony is relieved he knows the cause of the fluid buildup. […] ‘It was from a slight hamstring pull,’ Anthony said, “because it was in the back of the knee. It didn’t have anything to do with the actual knee, the ligaments. I tweaked a hamstring and fluid just drained down. I think it was from overcompensating my knee with my hamstring and trying to use one without the other. Just playing on it, not getting no rest and not taking care of it ahead of time. Like I said, I was being naïve with myself and it happened.'”