How Rash of Injuries to Jeremy Lin and Top Stars Will Affect Knicks' Playoff Run

The New York Knicks managed to extend their lead in the race for eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with an 89-80 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, despite the absences of Jeremy Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire, and a groin tweak to Carmelo Anthony.

Should all three be forced to miss significant time, the Knicks could very well lose their grip on the last postseason spot and slip disappointingly back into a less-than-cushy pile of lottery ping-pong balls.

Ones that the Houston Rockets would stand to benefit from.

'Melo might not be available for Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic after reaggravating a  groin injury during a 28-point outburst—his best total in two months. Linsanity, meanwhile, may be on hold for a bit after injuring his right knee against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

The worst blow, though, belongs to STAT, who came down with a bulging disk in his back during that same game against the Pistons—a malady that could keep him out through the end of the regular season.

All of which added up to Mike Woodson calling off Tuesday's practice, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post:

"

Woodson calls off practice tomorrow. That's how beat up they are.

— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 27, 2012"

No team can realistically withstand the long-term loss of its three best players, especially with a schedule as brutal as the one with which the Knickerbockers will be faced in the coming weeks. Of their final 16 games, 10 are against teams with winning records, and half of those 10 are against the Magic, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.

Gulp is right, folks. The Knicks have had enough trouble handling those teams with a healthier roster. Throw in a few extra injuries and, well...

On the flip side, injuries to Gotham's Big Three will allow the likes of Baron Davis, Landry Fields, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to get in additional work and build confidence heading into the final month of the season.

And, luckily for the Knicks, Milwaukee's remaining slate isn't all that much easier, with eight games against teams that are currently playoff-bound.

The Bucks, of course, are the Knicks' chief competition for the eighth spot in the East.

All things considered, Monday shaped up to be a bittersweet day for the Knicks, one on which a hard-fought, defensive-minded victory at Madison Square Garden was washed out by concerns that injuries to the team's stars may be too much for this already-sinking ship to bear. 

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