It’s been a season of bumps and bruises for Marcus Camby. But everyone eventually felt he’d turn it around in the playoffs and become the dynamo that drove the Knicks to the Finals last spring.
But his bumpy ride has continued in these playoffs. Camby, who has been a physical wreck all season, doesn’t seem right. After practice yesterday, he spoke with a grimace, as if in pain, not once flashing the big toothy grin that usually emerges during chats with reporters.
When he walked into the Purchase parking lot, his right knee was bandaged and he walked with a heavy limp. Camby was the poster boy for the Knick failures in Game 5 and is one of the chief reasons why the Knicks might be facing summer vacation by late tonight.
“I have to pick up my level of play for us to get where we need to go,” Camby said.
Camby missed more games than Patrick Ewing in the regular season (23-20), his 26-year-old body breaking down at every turn. It started in November with a bad case of tendinitis in his left knee. He also missed games with a sprained ankle and the flu before his Feb. 6 ACL strain in his right knee that prompted surgery and a five-week absence.
Just when he was getting into his rhythm, he reinjured his right knee late in the regular season and missed the final two games with a sprain. During the Toronto series, he missed practice time because of dental work after he cracked two teeth while chewing gum. In Game 1 of this series, Camby sustained a lump on his elbow after getting banged to the floor and received a cut above his right eye from an Otis Thorpe elbow.
“I’m well enough to go out there and play,” Camby said. “I’m not making any excuses.”
While the Heat are doing a terrific job of keeping Camby off the offensive glass in four of the five games, the more frustrating element is Camby missing shots when he breaks free.
He scored two points in the Game 5 loss on 1 of 6 shooting and fouled out in 23 minutes of action. Camby seems afraid of Alonzo Mourning’s presence in the lane. Camby’s lone hoop came on a drive right after Mourning took a seat in the fourth quarter with five fouls.
“I’m just not finishing the same,” Camby said. “I’m not finishing strong to the basket. I’m rushing a lot of shots I get. Easy shots. It’s definitely been discouraging. Those shots I should be making. I feel I’m letting the team down by not making shots. I have to make conscious effort.”
Camby is shooting just 35.5 percent in the series – 37.7 percent in the eight playoff games. When he’s not boarding, it affects his entire game. And maybe Van Gundy just never gave him enough minutes this season.
