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New York Knicks Injury News: Alexey Shved To Miss Remainder Of Season

By Kenneth Teape

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New York Knicks Injury News: Alexey Shved’s Season Is Ended Because Of Broken Rib

The New York Knicks are just waiting for the end of the season to come, as the 2014-2015 campaign has been among the worst, if not the worst, in the history of the franchise. Right from the outset injuries hampered the team, as they never had their projected rotation, let alone starting lineup, from the preseason appear in a regular season game together. Injuries have been a common theme for the Knicks all season, so even as disappointing as it is, it should come as no surprise that the one player that has been playing well recently, Alexey Shved, is now injured and will miss the remainder of the season.

Shved has been diagnosed with a fractured rib, which he suffered this past Sunday against the Toronto Raptors. He was injured on a pump fake, as it caused Raptors’ forward James Johnson to jump out of the gym, kneeing him in the face and upper back underneath the shoulder. It resulted in the fractured rib that he is now dealing with, and will effectively end his season. The timetable is 2-3 weeks until he will be re-evaluated, but by that time the Knicks will be playing their season finale against the Detroit Pistons.

While the Knicks aren’t playing to win games, instead evaluating talent for next season, tanking in other words to some, Shved was one of the last players that were actually producing positive numbers. He came out and competed every night since the Knicks acquired him at the trade deadline from the Houston Rockets along with two second round picks for Pablo Prigioni. He has always had intriguing size, and with the Knicks he finally seemed to be putting it together a little bit.

Throughout his NBA career, Shved has been an extremely inefficient scorer, as he struggled to knock down three-pointers and wasn’t efficient around the basket. With the Knicks something seemed to click, as he raised his shooting percentage to 40.3; still not great, but nonetheless a huge improvement upon his career number, which is 36.3 percent.

A big reason for that is the success he has found from deep with the Knicks, as he is making his three-point attempts at a 37.1 percent clip compared to the 29.6 percent he shot prior to joining the Knicks.

That all equated to the highest scoring marks of Shved’s career, as he averaged 14.8 points per game with the Knicks. It is also a big part of the 54.1 percent true shooting percentage and 19.6 PER that Shved has registered in the 2014-15 season. To go along with the improved scoring numbers, Shved has also flashed what made him an intriguing player when coming over to Europe.

With all of the injuries the Knicks were facing, Shved was forced into some point guard duties, something he was lauded for in Europe, and he performed admirably. He has averaged 3.6 assists per game, which is pretty impressive for a player that was thrown into the dumpster fire that is the Knicks without knowing their system.

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He has also averaged 4.6 rebounds per game, which anyone that has seen Shved would be surprised by. He is extremely skinny, which makes it difficult for him to work in the paint, but his height helps him make up for his slight frame. He has recorded two double-doubles with the Knicks this season, which is as many as he has had his career previously.

This is an unfortunate break for Shved, but his Knick career may not be over. Shved is one of 10 players on the roster that will be a free agent next season, and he has made as good a case as anyone to be brought back. His size could be valuable as a combo guard off the bench, and with a better supporting cast around him his efficiency should only rise. But for this season, we have seen the last of Shved as the Knicks will be in no rush to get him back on the court with ping pong balls all that is left that they are playing for.

Next: Who is the best point guard in Knicks history?

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