The New York Knicks suffered a major blow on Saturday learning of a knee injury that will keep forward Amar’e Stoudemire sidelined for the next six weeks according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com:
Amar’e Stoudemire is scheduled to have a right knee debridement this coming week and is expected to miss approximately six weeks, the New York Knicks announced Saturday.
Stoudemire continues to battle injuries throughout his career that have severely limited his potential since coming to New York. Although designated to come off the bench after returning from off-season knee surgery this season, Stoudemire has played well in a different role and giving leading scorer Carmelo Anthony his time to shine at the power forward position.
Fortunately, despite losing arguably their best bench player in Stoudemire for the rest of the regular season and potentially for the NBA playoffs, the Knicks were able to sign veteran forward Kenyon Martin to a second 10-day contract. Martin made an impression on the team in the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder recently and will almost certainly have an opportunity to prove his worth on with Stoudemire out.
The Knicks might also start to lean on Chris Copeland in Stoudemire’s absence. Copeland hasn’t received much playing time this season, but that may very well change with the team dealing with a banged up frontcourt.
Head coach Mike Woodson addressed the loss of Stoudemire clearly stating that it will greatly impact the Knicks moving forward via Begley:
“It’s a major loss to what we’re trying to do,” coach Mike Woodson said.
As of right now, the Knicks are currently sitting in third place in the Eastern conference with a 37-22 record, but have struggled as of late with five losses in the last 10 games.
Along with the loss of Stoudemire, the Knicks have had to play without Anthony in the lineup. The team’s leading scorer has been dealing with a knee issue of his own and has missed the last two games since injuring the knee against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 4. Anthony will missed a third straight game on Saturday against the Utah Jazz.
