Amar’e Stoudemire returns as a sixth man after knee injury

Amar’e Stoudemire feels the Knicks didn’t properly use his talents in the postseason, griping about Mike Woodson’s decision not to play him in the second half of Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers.

Stoudemire, who is owed $44 million over the next two seasons, missed most of the beginning of the season with knee debridement surgery. He had the same procedure in his other knee and didn’t play any regular season games after March 7. But finally healthy, Stoudemire barely saw any action for the Knicks against the Pacers. He only played 5:47 in Game 6, all in the first half, even remaining on the pine when Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin fouled out late in the game.

The wait is over. Amar’e Stoudemire will be returning to the New York Knicks’ lineup on January 1, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting.

Without Stoudemire, the Knicks have raced out to a 21-9 league record, a much better performance than expected. However, they’re coming off a West Coast road trip that featured them losing two of three games.

Sekou Smith writes that Stoudemire will go to the MSG Training Center in Greenburgh. The power forward has missed the entire season after a knee debridement procedure at the end of October. As Smith notes, Stoudemire will be the most high-profile player ever assigned to a D-League roster.

There has been much debate about how Stoudemire will fit into a team that, in his absence, has raced out to the best record in the Eastern Conference. There is a strong argument that the best use of the six-time All-Star is off the bench. With Stoudemire progressing in his rehab, the Knicks and Woodson will apparently face that decision soon.

Stoudemire hasn’t commenced running on his surgically-repaired left knee,according to Berman’s report. Berman also mentioned that a person with knowledge of Stoudemire’s current mindset said that the forward believes that a return in the middle of December - his initial ideal timetable to return - is no longer a realistic option.

Currently participating in rehabilitation with the team, according to the report, Stoudemire played in only one exhibition game with the Knicks on Oct. 19 and underwent surgery on Nov. 1.

But sources close to Stoudemire said he’d be willing to come off the bench in order to maintain the team’s chemistry. If he were willing to play a sixth-man role, the team’s ball movement-friendly starting five could remain the same without having to answer the always awkward question of how to get both Stoudemire and Anthony enough touches, with Stoudemire providing a major scoring option for the team when Anthony has to get rest.

Stoudemire would be out until at least early December. The way New York’s schedule plays out, a Dec. 12 return would have Stoudemire missing at least 20 games.

Stoudemire has a history of knee injuries. A microfracture required surgery in 2005, something that gave most teams pause when Stoudemire was a free agent in 2010. The Knicks eventually signed him to a five-year, $100 million contract.

Stoudemire’s injury has gotten more and more dire: he was initially believed to have merely just banged knees with a teammate in practice and suited up for the team’s Oct. 19 preseason game after missing a few exhibitions. However, the seriousness of the injury increased with every bit of new news: Stoudemire was shut down again, then revealed to have a cyst in his knee that would cause him to miss 2-3 weeks. Now, with the start of their season two days away, the Knicks have said that the power forward will miss almost two months of action after getting a left knee debridement, which is another way of referring to arthroscopic surgery.

New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire will miss the first six weeks of the regular season with a knee injury, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN. Stoudemire was first expected to be out two to three weeks, but sought a second opinion on his injury last week. The forward had initially been diagnosed with a ruptured popliteal cyst in his knee after experiencing soreness. The initial prognosis was that Stoudemire would not require surgery.

Anthony and Stoudemire are the two centerpieces of the Knicks, but haven’t had as much playing time together in the one-and-a-half seasons since Anthony was traded to New York as some might have hoped. Both have had their separate injuries, making it difficult for the pair of high-usage players to figure out how to mesh their games in a productive manner. When asked, Anthony was disappointed his teammate wouldn’t be ready to kick off the season, as reported by Alan Hahn of MSG:

Anthony also expressed disappointment in Stoudemire’s unfortunate injury problems:

Stoudemire will not need surgery on the injured knee and will miss two to three weeks.

The injury was initially detected as soreness in Stoudemire’s knee and an MRI revealed a ruptured popliteal cyst, which can be healed through rest rather than surgery.