Knicks Notes: Noah, Anthony, Kuzminskas, Bliss

Injured Knicks center Joakim Noah met with team doctors Monday before receiving clearance to practice today, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team knows Noah can’t play again this season, but it wanted him medically cleared so his 20-game drug suspension will start as soon as possible. NBA doctors will examine Noah, who had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in late February, before Wednesday’s game against Miami. If he gets league approval before tipoff, he will serve eight games of the suspension this season.

Noah apologized to teammates today for his androgen-related suspension and said he will accept the punishment “like a man,” tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Noah said the substance he took was intended to help with his rehab after surgery and was not approved by the Knicks’ medical staff, relays Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

There’s more news out of New York:

  • Carmelo Anthony, who returned to the lineup Monday after resting his knee on the final two games of a Western road trip, prefers “Chinese herbs, African herbs” to other supplements, Berman notes in a separate story. He won’t commit to playing both games of this week’s back-to-back. Anthony also says of fans who want the team to tank to improve its draft position, “They can come play,” tweets Begley.
  • A midseason slump by Mindaugas Kuzminskas could discourage the Knicks from letting him play for Lithuania in this summer’s European Championships, Berman writes in another piece. The competition starts in August, with training camp in late July. The Knicks are concerned that Kuzminskas is running out of steam after playing in the Olympics last year.
  • The Knicks’ Dave Bliss is part of a group of young assistant coaches who are making their mark in the NBA, according to Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Bliss, who played four years at Georgia before graduating in 2008, is a key part of the team’s player deprogram that has helped Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez and Lance Thomas quickly become productive players.
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