Enes Kanter was not walking well when he left the locker room Saturday night in Houston. But the back spasms that kept him out of the last two games weren't stopping him from saying he would try to play Monday night.
"I might not be a hundred percent, but I think I'm going to try and play," Kanter said. "I play with pain probably 95 percent of the season every season. If they think it's not going to affect me in the long run, I'll play. It doesn't matter."
By that, Kanter means the Knicks' doctors and medical staff. He said it's their decision on whether he can play against the Blazers at Madison Square Garden. But from the way Kanter was walking and talking it didn't sound promising.
Kanter said he's on Mobick, a strong pain medication and anti-inflammatory. He said he feels "way better" than when he first started feeling it Friday morning, but he's never experienced anything like this.
"Never," Kanter said. "I mean, I had back issues before, just a spasm that hurt sometimes. But not that bad. I'm in a really ... it's hard, (strong) medication and it still hurts even when I walk."
Of course, the Knicks won't let their starting center play if they believe it can turn into a long-term issue. Kanter said they held him out Friday in Atlanta because had he played and it worsened he could have missed multiple weeks.
Kristaps Porzingis probably has a better chance to play Monday. Porzingis missed Saturday's loss to the Rockets with low back tightness. But he was moving much better than Kanter, who is hoping the three days off will be enough for him to return.
If not, the Knicks' next game is Wednesday, and then they don't play until Sunday.
"If I cannot (play), it's out of my hands. If they don't give me a green light I can't do nothing about it. But I want to play Monday for sure."
Kanter blamed himself for Friday's loss to the Hawks for not being able to help his teammates because he was "in the locker room crying like a little baby."
His energy and rebounding were missed in a game in which the Knicks' squandered a 17-point lead and fell to team with the worst record at the time. Kanter is averaging 13.6 points and 10.2 rebounds this season.
The next night, the Knicks without Porzingis and Kanter, built a 22-point lead on Houston less than eight minutes into the game. But they couldn't sustain that level of play on both ends of the floor. The Rockets won, 117-102.
The back-to-back losses are pushing Kanter even more to try and play.
"I would still want to play because it's just my nature," he said. "I just want to go out there and compete. But right now I just want it even more."
If Kanter can't play, Jeff Hornacek likely will start Kyle O'Quinn again with Willy Hernangomez as the backup. But it's possible there could be a Joakim Noah sighting.
Noah hasn't played yet this season, as he's gone from the NBA's suspended list to the Knicks' inactive list. He didn't make the two-game trip because the Knicks said he had a stomach virus. They could have used him with Kanter out.
