Enes Kanter is barely over 50 percent healthy with a sore back and hip. Yet the Knicks center wants to keep playing. Why?
The 2014-15 season.
He finished that season with the Thunder, who missed the playoffs through a tiebreaker with the Pelicans. So Kanter sees every game, even those in November and December, as important for the postseason.
“Physically I’m getting there. I’m over 40-50 percent,” Kanter said after Knicks practice in Tarrytown on Wednesday.
But he refuses to take time off, even at half-strength.
“I remember the year I get traded to OKC (2014-15), we lost the playoff spot by half-game. So every game, every possession counts,” Kanter said. “I’ll get rest in the summertime.”
And the guy who appreciates that most is Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek.
“The way he’s running up and down the court right now, you can tell there’s some back things going on,” Hornacek said. “But he’s a tough kid, he wants to play through it.”
Kanter missed three games in November with back spasms and was kneed in the hip in Chicago on Saturday. He left the arena on crutches and arrived for the Knicks’ game Sunday at the Garden on crutches. And he still played in a win over the Hawks.
“It‘s still bothering me even when I walk sometimes,” said Kanter, who did not play in the fourth quarter or overtime of the Knicks’ 113-109 victory over the Lakers on Tuesday, but who plans to face the Nets on Thursday in Brooklyn.
Even hurting against the Lakers, Kanter amassed a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in just under 27 minutes. Yes, he could have and would have played through pain if he went back in the game.
“Whenever I’m in the game, I’m in the game zone,” said Kanter, who is averaging 13.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. “I don’t think about my body because I dive for the ball [Tuesday] and I did not care how my back was going to feel or anything.”
Kanter said he feels a lot better — even at 50 percent. He has been getting iced down and receiving regular treatment for the pain, which is from a “combination of [back and hip],” he said.
“I think I’m fine,” Kanter added. “I don’t feel it as much. I don’t need crutches anymore and stuff.”
Well, that’s encouraging. No crutches or body bag required. Would it make more sense to just sit out a bit?
“There’s times you go a couple of weeks and you’re banged up and then all of a sudden you’re better,” Hornacek said. “You get through it. That’s our hope for Enes. That’s what his hope is. That’s why he continues to play. We’ll try this. If it lingers on for a month or [so] then we have to look at it.”