Carmelo doubtful for Sunday; Fisher acknowledges he may be shut down

It seems reality is setting in that Carmelo Anthony will eventually be shut down rather than play out what's become a disastrous New York Knicks' season, and the team has listed its best player as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Anthony sat out the Knicks' 97-81 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday, one in which the Knicks were roundly booed off the floor at Madison Square Garden.

Rookie head coach Derek Fisher also admitted on Friday that Anthony may have to undergo season-ending surgery on his troublesome left knee.

"From the conversations I've been a part of, I think everybody is smart enough to realize, calendar wise, timing wise, that there may come a point that that's the decision that needs to be made," Fisher said, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. "But (we realize) that we can't force Carmelo to that point just yet."

Anthony has acknowledged the problem may end his season prematurely, but what's keeping him from making that call seems to depend on who you ask. 

The Knicks, the first NBA team to lose 30 games this season, are out of the playoff race, but there are thoughts that either Melo wants to play in the All-Star Game in New York in February (which makes no sense, playing in an exhibition contest while dealing with an injury) or that he's afraid of inevitable surgery.