Amar’e Stoudemire will be available to the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers. (Flickr.com photo by Bryan Horowitz)
New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire will be available for limited duty in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, May 11.
Stoudemire hasn’t played since March 7 after undergoing a debridement procedure on his right knee, which means he had dead and damaged tissue removed from his troublesome knee.
When he did play this season—which wasn’t often, Stoudemire averaged 14.2 points and five rebounds in 23.5 minutes a game. He made just 29 appearances, missing the first 30 games after having debridement surgery on his also-troublesome left knee in October. Then he missed the team’s final 23 games for the second debridement procedure.
At age 30, it’s all but certain we’ll never see the Amar’e Stoudemire who averaged more than 20 points a game seven times in an eight-season span from 2003-04 through 2010-11. Stoudemire missed 19 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign and has sat out 216 games in his 11-year career.
So at this point, what can we expect from Stoudemire?
In his 29 games this season, the Knicks were a better team without Stoudemire on the floor. New York averaged 100.1 points and outscored its opponents by 4.7 points when Stoudemire was on the bench. But when he was on the floor, the Knicks averaged just 98 points and the scoring differential dropped to minus-2.0.
The primary culprit was Stoudemire’s never-legendary defense. At his absolute best, Stoudemire was never anything more than a middling defender—his best defensive rating (DRtg) of his career was the 101 he posted as a rookie (although he did record a 101 in his injury-shortened 2011-12 season). This year, his DRtg (points allowed per 100 possessions) was terrible, just a 108. When Stoudemire was on the floor, the Knicks posted a DRtg of 105.1, as opposed to a 103.2 when he wasn’t playing.
Making matters worse was that the Knicks’ offensive rating (ORtg) also dropped when STAT was on the floor, from 108.7 to 108.1.
That’s not to say Stoudemire didn’t have some moments in 2012-13. Here are some of his highlights from this season:
According to ESPNNewYork.com, the plan is to not ask much of Stoudemire.
“It won’t be very many minutes,” coach Mike Woodson said Thursday. “I’m thinking somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, if that.”
For his part, Stoudemire isn’t concerned about how much he plays, just that he has an opportunity to help the Knicks.
“It’s whatever,” Stoudemire said. “It’s a matter of will. I can play whatever the coaching staff wants me to play. … Any time you get on the court, you have a chance to make an impact on the game. So if I’m able to play for Game 3, however [much] time coach Woodson puts me in for, I’m going to definitely contribute.”
Here’s more from Stoudemire from Thursday:
A nice sentiment from Stoudemire, but the numbers would appear to indicate otherwise.