Stoudemire returns, but Knicks out of sync
The Knicks added an All-Star power forward to their lineup and somehow got worse.
Amar'e Stoudemire made his return Friday night in Cleveland after missing 13 games with a bulging disc in his lower back. And while he got through 27:29 of action without any pain or discomfort and put up 15 points with four blocked shots and three rebounds, the Knicks looked lethargic and out of sync in a 98-90 loss to the lottery-bound Cavaliers.
Despite the result, and the ensuing rhetoric that the Knicks are better off without Stoudemire, Mike Woodson was just happy to have him back.
"It gives us another big-time player in the lineup," Woodson said. "We're solid now. When you have Amar'e, (Tyson Chandler) and Melo on the front line, that's as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. I just have to make it work and I think I can do that."
Melo, being Carmelo Anthony, averaged 30.6 points per game on 50 percent shooting in Stoudemire's absence, as the team went 9-4. Anthony had just 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting in the loss to Cleveland, which prompted concerns that Stoudemire somehow stole his mojo.
Woodson is quick to point out that before Stoudemire went down with the injury, the Knicks were 6-1, with Amar'e and Melo playing together. Anthony says Stoudemire's return is only a positive.
"It's another body we're missing that we can definitely use," Anthony said. "Another rebounder, another guy we can go to, not having to rely on me every night."
The Knicks have three games left in the regular season to allow Stoudemire to get his timing and game conditioning back. And also figure out how to maximize the talents of their two All-Star forwards.
"There's no reason to panic right now," Stoudemire said. "We feel like we can do some damage in the postseason."
The debate in New York right now is if that damage will be to other teams or to each other.
