Marcus Camby has picked up where he left off during his first Knicks stint.
Fears this graybeard team would be susceptible to health woes already are being realized as the Knicks announced Camby will miss seven to 10 days with a left calf strain after an MRI exam.
In addition, Amar’e Stoudemire missed practice yesterday with a sore ankle after being held out of Friday’s scrimmage. To boot, Rasheed Wallace has not been cleared to scrimmage, deemed not in good enough shape.
Camby, 38, has called the Knicks frontcourt the deepest in the NBA, and all that depth may be needed. The average age of their top 13 players is a league-record-high 32.8 years old.
Camby, who had an injury-riddled run as a Knick from 1998-2002, will miss at least the first two preseason games, Thursday in Washington and Saturday against the Celtics in Hartford, Conn.
Coach Mike Woodson minimized the loss of Camby, saying the center is not being depended upon to play heavy minutes anyhow. Camby was signed to a three-year, $10.5 million deal to be Tyson Chandler’s backup.
“Injuries creep in,’’ Woodson said. “He’ll bounce back. It’s not a career-ending injury. Years ago, Marcus was playing 30, 40 minutes a game. I’m not looking for Marcus to play 30 minutes a game anymore. Camby, Kurt [Thomas], Rasheed, they’re not big-minute players anymore. So you get a good 10, 15 minutes out of those guys, it’s a plus.’’
As Knicks special adviser Larry Johnson walked into the locker room, he jokingly thanked the coach for putting him into the scrimmage. Woodson gave a nervous laugh. But it may come to that.
“We just got to make sure their bodies are ready to go up and down and the core guys are carrying the load,’’ Woodson said. “These guys are supporting cast.’’
Not so Stoudemire, whose bum ankle could be a larger concern because he is being depended upon to be “the man’’ again this season. Without Stoudemire back to All-Star form, the Knicks have little shot at challenging the defending-champion Heat.
Stoudemire joins the 30-plus club next month, making him the seventh Knick in his 30s. Neither Stoudemire nor Camby were made available to the media yesterday.
Stoudemire tweaked his ankle Friday, and Woodson said Stoudemire “went down a little.’’ Woodson acknowledged he cut short Stoudemire’s practice, but denied he was injured, saying, “He’s probably in the best shape of anybody out on the floor. He’s been pretty good.’’
The only good news is Stoudemire’s back has held up. He has a chronic bulging disk that kept him out of most of the playoffs in his first season as a Knick then knocked him out in March last season.
“He had some soreness after [Friday’s] practice,’’ Woodson said. “We’re holding him out. I have to make sure to stay on top of it.’’
As promised, Woodson has been big on conditioning and running in the first few days of camp. The coach is starting to back off and said today’s session will be light. There have been no two-a-days — just one three-hour session.
It is unknown whether Wallace will scrimmage before the Washington game. The 38-year-old has been on the side doing core exercises. The Knicks are treating him like fine china following a two-year absence.
“He’s not ready yet,’’ said Woodson, who hasn’t guaranteed Wallace a roster spot. “It’s conditioning. He’s just not there where you want him to be. He’ll get there eventually. We’re doing things to get him in shape. It’s not always running up and down the floor to get in shape. Other things you can do as well.”
Chandler minimized Stoudemire’s and Camby’s absences.
“I don’t think either of the injuries are serious,’’ Chandler said. “No need to force things now. We’ve got a long season ahead of us. We need guys healthy. A little thing can turn into a bigger issue.’’
And there is no bigger issue than the Knicks’ health.