Amar’e Stoudemire sidelined for six to eight weeks with a knee injury – NBA News
Amar’e Stoudemire was rumoured to be out for another few weeks because of the knee injury that he has been recovering from, and the New York Knicks confirmed on Tuesday that their All Star power forward was indeed going to undergo a knee surgery and would likely be missing six to eight weeks of action.
This means that Stoudemire would not be back till mid or late December, and would miss around 20 regular season games this season.
The loss puts the Knicks in a very difficult situation, and brings back memories of last season when the team suffered with multiple injuries to different players that left them weak and allowed them to barely make the playoffs.
In the absence of Stoudemire, Knicks coach Mike Woodson will have no other option but to play Carmelo Anthony at the power forward position rather than his usual small forward role. Anthony has played more efficiently at the four position for the Knicks, but does not like playing at that position and prefers his three position any time. However, the loss of Stoudemire will force Woodson to play Anthony at four.
Even if that gets Anthony to play more efficiently and contribute more towards the success of the team, the coach is going to have a hard time finding a replacement for Anthony at the three. Marcus Camby is at the twilight of his career and it is unknown whether he will be able to efficiently handle extended playing minutes.
Rasheed Wallace is locked in by the Knicks for next season but reports from his training are not very positive and he seems to be slightly behind the curve as far as his conditioning is concerned. In such a situation, the responsibility on Tyson Chandler is greater than before and he will have to not only play extended minutes, but also hold down the front court on both ends of the floor and contribute to the team on a nightly basis. Chandler is an exceptional defensive player but his offence is not on the same level, which might cause a few problems for the Knicks.
After struggling much of the last season with injuries to their key players, the Knicks are once again back in the same situation before the season has even started. They need to somehow hold down the fort till Stoudemire returns and they are back to full strength.
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