Carmelo Anthony Injury: Why NY Knicks Shouldn't Rush Superstar Back to Court

The New York Knicks suffered another big blow Monday night when All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony had to leave the win against Utah in the first quarter with what was diagnosed as a strained right groin.

That adds to the growing list of problems for Anthony, who just got back into the lineup after missing a pair of games with a sprained right ankle and a banged-up wrist.

Anthony is set to be re-evaluated today, but regardless the Knicks shouldn't rush Anthony back into the lineup.

That actually has nothing to do with the emergence of new fan favorite Jeremy Lin, but more with the fact that the Knicks need Anthony completely healthy to make a run.

First of all, the Knicks play the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. While it would be nice to have Anthony in the lineup for that game, it's more important to get him to 100 percent. Realistically, they should be able to beat Washington with or without Anthony.

If they can't, that's a different problem all together.

Anthony at anything less then fully healthy isn't as an effective player. If the Knicks have to rest him a game or even a week or two, then that's what they have to do. Hopefully they will be able to salvage a couple of wins in the process.

It will pay off in the long run. The Knicks don't want to worry about Anthony potentially injuring himself further.

If that happens, then the Knicks will be in trouble.

By no means is Anthony replaceable for the Knicks, but they should be able to get by for a handful of games, assuming that it's nothing serious.

It's a different story all together if he re-injures himself and has to miss significant time.

That's why the cautious approach could be the more beneficial one right now.

Sometimes it's better to take a step back before taking a leap forward.