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Jeremy Lin On His Likely Season-Ending Knee Surgery: “It Sucks”

The basketball gods are not smiling kindly on New York lately, but that’s karma for you — you can’t gainfully employ Isiah Thomas for an extended period and expect to be rewarded for it. Jeremy Lin, the man who basically saved the Knicks from utter destruction and took the world by storm with his unassuming manner, godliness, Harvard degree and ability to finish in traffic, will need knee surgery and will miss up six weeks, essentially ending his season. Linsanity, for a time, has been shelved.

Lin had been bothered by knee pain and sat out the last few games, and a Saturday MRI revealed a small, chronic meniscus tear that needs surgery to be fully corrected. Lin had a press conference yesterday to discuss the injury, the implications and whether he’s worried about heading into free agency with a surgically-repaired knee. The quote that sums this up best is definitely “It sucks.”

Lin could potentially return if the Knicks make the playoffs and are able to get out of the first round (which seems unlikely if they have to face the Bulls or the Heat), but with Amar’e and Jared Jefferies also missing time, plus the myriad of injuries affecting Carmelo, Tyson Chandler, and Baron Davis, the Knicks are losing their depth and their quality minutes. You can’t guarantee a playoff spot, much less a first round win, with that kind of uncertainty. So we’ll have to wait until next season for Linsanity to resume.

Like Ricky Rubio before him, Lin’s breakout season has been tragically cut short. With the number of injuries to a multitude of important players throughout the season — like Derrick Rose, Chauncy Billups, Rubio and now Lin — you have to wonder if the NBA is regretting the decision to stack a 66-game schedule into a five month regular reason. Playing that much basketball in such a short period of time can’t be good on the knees.

h/t Buzzfeed