Knicks' Carmelo Anthony: Will sit out Friday's game vs. Grizzlies

Anthony will sit out Friday's game against the Grizzlies for rest purposes, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.

Analysis:

This doesn't come as much of a surprise given that the Knicks will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set, and have little incentive to hand their star players major minutes with the team already eliminated from playoff contention. After Friday's contest, the Knicks will have only two more games Sunday and Wednesday, so there's a decent chance Anthony will be available for both contests, though he could see his minutes monitored. With Anthony out of the mix for Friday's game though, Mindaugas Kuzminskas looks like the top candidate to enter the starting five at small forward, with he, Justin Holiday and Sasha Vujacic all likely in store for big boosts in playing time on the wing.