Carmelo Anthony Injury: Jeremy Lin and Players That Must Step Up for NY Knicks

While Carmelo Anthony rests, the New York Knicks are counting on other players to score big and help the team win. During these struggling times, losing Carmelo really hurts, but if a few certain players put the team on their back, the Knicks will be just fine. 

According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, Anthony is expected to be out for one to two weeks with a strained right groin. 

New York has won two games in a row now and are currently half a game back from eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks will face the Washington Wizards tonight.

There is a lot of basketball left to be played, so the Knicks shouldn't be extremely worried without Carmelo on the court. 

However, it's definitely harder to win when he isn't there, and the last thing the Knicks need to do is dig themselves into a deeper hole. 

With that said, here are a few players that must step up in Carmelo's absence. 

Jeremy Lin, PG 

He's off to a good start and has received a great deal of hype for carrying the team in the last two games. Now Lin has to keep it up because the fans are really counting on him.

The young point guard from Harvard scored 25 points last Saturday and then 28 points on Monday. Lin is giving the Knicks a huge spark, and he has to keep it up over the course of the next few weeks. 

The pressure on Lin will grow more and more while Carmelo is out, but he's showing he can be the leader of this team. 

As the point guard, Lin is in control, and he'll have to make sure he manages the game, puts points on the board and sets his teammates up for big scores. 

Tyson Chandler, C 

In his last five games, Chandler has taken an average of 7.6 field goals, and that has to increase with Carmelo on the bench. 

Chandler has to use his big frame to starting muscling his way through opponents. He leads the team in rebounds, but now it's time for him to start being more a scorer. 

The 7'1", 240-pound center needs to pick up some of the production that will be missed while Carmelo heals, and he has to start right away.

He's the biggest guy on the court most nights, and Chandler needs to take advantage of this and help the Knicks in the scoring department.

Landry Fields, G 

The young guard out of Stanford was a huge sensation for the Knicks last year, dropping more than 20 points on a number of occasions.

He provided a big spark for New York when others were either out, having an off night or being worked by the opposing defense. 

Fields has the ability to rise up and be a scoring machine, but we haven't seen it that much this year. Only once has he scored 20 or more points this season, and that was back in 2011. 

January wasn't a great month for Fields, but now it's time for him to move forward and make the most of his chances in February and beyond. The Knicks know he is capable of big things, now Fields just has to show it.