DALLAS — For the briefest of moments, Quentin Grimes felt his kneecap jerk out of place. He even saw the displacement, which, to any athlete or human being, is a scary visual.
So it could’ve been worse. Nearly two weeks later, the Knicks rookie was still knocking on wood when recounting his good fortune.
“Yeah, I felt it. (My kneecap) was on the side of my knee,” Grimes said. “Then it popped back in when I rolled over. So luckily it wasn’t too bad.”
Grimes, who was diagnosed with a subluxation of his right patella after his fall Feb. 25, is already back to sprinting and shooting. He’ll be re-evaluated by a doctor in New York over the weekend, and, barring any bad news, the next phase is full contact practice.
He’s optimistic about a return “soon,” which is encouraging given the grim outlook of many non-contact knee injuries.
Coach Tom Thibodeau raved about Grimes’ commitment to recovery, reinforcing the expectation the 21-year-old will play again this season regardless of where the Knicks sit in the standings.
“Every step, there hasn’t been any issues, and he’s one of those guys that he’s gonna do all he can to get back as quick as he can,” Thibodeau said. “It’s just his makeup. You don’t put that in someone. That’s in him. He’s fierce.”
As much as Grimes can count his blessings, the injury was also a momentum killer. Grimes, who said he’s never prior suffered an injury that kept him sidelined for more than a week, was just finding a rhythm and consistent spot in the rotation.
In the four games prior to his injury, the 25th overall pick averaged 35 minutes and 13.3 points. His 3-point shot and defense were transferring nicely to the NBA.
But just 14 seconds after subbing in against the Heat, Grimes planted his foot and fell to the court while screaming in pain.
“Yeah, it’s tough you can see how much my minutes were going up, how much I was on the ball and everything,” Grimes said.
He never watched the replay.
“They told me what it looked like and I didn’t want to see it,” Grimes said. “So I just let it be.”
The positive news quickly followed. Grimes was able to walk to the locker room without help, giving him confidence the damage was minimal. An MRI confirmed that surgery was unnecessary. A day later, Grimes was strong enough to attend a Rangers game at MSG, where his brother, Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks, scored his first career goal.
“That was my first hockey game since I was like 10 or something like that,” he said. “I forgot how loud it gets in there. Fans crazy, way crazier than Knicks fans.”
Now Grimes is nearing a return from his scary knee injury.
“No pain,” Grimes updated. “Just sore a little bit because I’m just trying to work on it getting super strong.”
()
from Signage https://ift.tt/VaFGSz2
via Irvine Sign Company
