Amar’e Stoudemire expected to return on Tuesday; will operate from bench – NBA Report
New York Knicks star power forward Amar’e Stoudemire underwent a left knee debridement on Oct. 31, and as he moves closer to making a comeback, speculations about his role in the team are gaining momentum.
According to a source close to the situation, the oft-injured forward is expected to be back in the lineup by Tuesday when the Knicks take on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Amar’e however is not expected to start, and will only do so if Carmelo Anthony doesn’t recover from a knee injury till then. Melo suffered the injury in the Christmas game against the Los Angeles Lakers and since then, he has
missed two games including tonight’s match against the Sacramento Kings.
"It's a fluid situation (because of injuries)," one source said. "But they want him to come off the bench to start."
The bench role for Stoudemire is understandable in the initial post injury period as it will allow him to make a smooth transition back to full game fitness, but it is in the longer run though, that Mike Woodson is planning to
use Amar’e as a super-sub.
The Knicks are 30-33 in regular season games Knicks have played with Melo and Stoudemire on the court and their chemistry issue is being considered the biggest threat to a fantastic 20-8 start which the Madison Square Garden franchise
has managed so far.
Both Amar’e and Melo like to operate in the elbow and mid post region and since the arrival of the latter; Stoudemire has found it difficult to get a move on. One major reason for that has been shallowness of Stoudemire’s skills
in the low post, something on which he tried to improve on by working with Hakeem Olajuwon in the off season.
The lack of quality point guards in the previous Knicks’ lineups also played its part in the struggles of Stoudemire, but the situation is quite different now. New York, although taken aback by a recent finger fracture to their
starting point guard Raymond Felton, still have a powerful option in the veteran Jason Kidd and have Pablo Prigioni to back him up. This can only be good for the former Phoenix Suns forward as he will be able to find more scoring opportunities down low and
can also be part of more and more pick and rolls.
Also, using Stoudemire on relief can give the Knicks bench that cutting edge which any championship contender needs.
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