Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Calderon seems ready; Bargnani uncertain

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – If all goes as expected, the Knicks will have Jose Calderon back in the lineup on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Calderon went through a full practice on Friday and the Knicks hope their point guard wakes up without any setbacks on Saturday morning.

“We tried to run a little bit harder yesterday, do some full-court stuff and sprints and conditioning at the same time,” said Calderon, who has been sidelined by a calf injury since the beginning of the season. “It felt good today, I was able to jump with the team and play with them for a little bit."

Andrea Bargnani’s return seems a bit more uncertain. Bargnani, who has been out with a hamstring injury since the preseason, went through a limited practice. Knicks coach Derek Fisher said Bargnani hasn’t done a lot of contact yet in practice.

“There was some today but not at a place where you can just put him out there and not be fully concerned whether or not he can handle everything going on,” Fisher said. “But he is trying his best to get back and we will just continue to monitor him day to day.”

The Knicks (3-10) can use the reinforcements. They’ve lost nine of their past 10 games and certainly want to avoid defeat at the hands of the Sixers, who were 0-11 going into Friday night’s game against Phoenix at home.

Fisher isn’t concerned with the Knicks potentially overlooking the lowly Sixers.

“Not from what I saw,” Fisher said. “Guys showed up today ready to go to work. I don’t think we can look at ourselves as better than anyone. We are fighting and scrapping hard to become better ourselves.

“We are in no position to judge and until we show up and we start winning, we can’t lift our nose at anybody.”

Calderon’s return could lift the Knicks' spirits and chances. He’s the team’s starting point guard and he showed an ability to run the triangle smoothly at times during the preseason.

“I talk to my teammates, I listen to coaches, I see what they’re (saying) in timeouts, just trying to get ready, try to be active,” Calderon said. “It’s gonna take a while, I’m going to make mistakes, but it’s different when you (finally) have a uniform on.”

“I have to be myself,” Calderon added. “I’ve played 10 years now, I gotta try to get everybody organized, I gotta pass the ball, shoot when I’m open, try to make everybody feel a little bit comfortable out there. So that’s what I can do, and try to be 100 percent every night to try to turn this around.”

Fisher would not say whether Calderon will start if he is available on Saturday.

“We don’t want to put too much pressure on Jose individually,” Fisher said in general when speaking about Calderon’s health. “He looked good today, he’s moving well.

“Any time you can add a good veteran presence, a guy that understands the game and even as he’s learning exactly what to do just like everybody else is, he still has a feel for how to play that, I think, helps to be a good symbol of composure, poise and leadership out there on the floor.”

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