http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/01/22/stoudemire-disappears-harrellson-out-6-weeks/
Stoudemire disappears, Harrellson out 6 weeks
Leave a comment By Moke Hamilton
January 22, 2012 at 7:36 AM
NEW YORK – On Saturday night, things went from bad to worse for the New York Knicks. On the second night of a back to back, the Denver Nuggets came into Madison Square Garden and handed the Knicks their sixth consecutive loss, in double overtime.
Danilo Gallinari scored a game high 37 points on a mere 19 field goal attempts and grabbed 8 rebounds. Al Harrington made some big shots down the stretch—including four 3-pointers—and grabbed 11 rebounds of his own.
The loss made the Knicks 0-4 on their longest homestand of the season. That they were done in by two guys that used to play for them probably makes the loss sting a bit more.
Coach D’Antoni has given his troops Sunday off before they embark on five-day road trip which will see them travel to Charlotte (Tuesday), Cleveland (Wednesday), Miami (Friday), and Houston (Saturday).
The losses keep on piling up, and so does the bad news.
After Saturday night’s game, it was announced that rookie center Josh Harrellson fractured his right wrist and will require surgery. A date for the procedure has not been set yet, but it will be approximately six weeks before he gets back on the floor.
At this point, multiple Knicks are battling health issues. After the loss, Anthony floated the idea of reevaluating his health with the Knicks training staff and possibly sitting out a game or two. “One day it’s the wrist, one day it’s the ankle. Some days are better than others… I am hard headed at times as far as them telling me to sit down some games… Maybe it’s time to reevaluate that.”
And although Amar’e Stoudemire claims nothing is wrong with him health-wise, he was as uninvolved in the Knicks offense as he’s been since ‘Melo arrived in New York.
Amar’e attempted less than 10 shots for only the third time since he’s been a Knick. The other two times—both this season—were in games in which he was limited by foul trouble. Back on January 12th at Memphis and on January 16th versus the Magic, Stoudemire attempted only seven shots in each game. He only played about 20 minutes in both.
On this night, in double overtime, Amar’e was 4-for-9 from the field. He took six shots in the first half and two in the third quarter. His second shot in the third came with 2:48 to go in the 3rd quarter. His last and final shot—from downtown— came with less than a minute remaining in double overtime. By that point, the game was already decided.
On Friday, I wrote that Amar’e and Carmelo seemed to behaving some serious chemistry issues. After this game, that’s a forgone conclusion.
Down the stretch, Stoudemire looked to become less engaged, but that was only after he set picks and rolled to no avail. On countless other plays, Anthony didn’t use his screens.
Afterwards, Stoudemire said he was alright with the lack of touches because “It is about winning… it is not about me and number of shots. We had a chance to win. We had great momentum going…”
But in the same breath, he gushed about the team needing better ball movement, about how the Nuggets play great “team basketball” and how Gallinari—who torched the Knicks—was a “phenomenal player” and that “he showed up tonight.”
Anthony—though he was brilliant down the stretch of regulation—acknowledged that he and Amar’e might need to speak privately and that he may need to adjust his game. “I think we as a team need to do a better job of getting Amar’e involved… Maybe it’s on me, maybe I need to get him the ball a little more… We can figure it out together,” he said.
Coach D’Antoni probably hopes that’s the case.
His team is 6-10, has lost six games in a row, and has a four games-in-five nights road trip coming up. The stakes are very high. They can return to the Garden on January 31st to battle the Pistons at 10-10, or at 6-14.
In the meantime, they’ll pin a lot of hope on Baron Davis (he might practice on Monday) and pray that Harrellson can return sooner than later.
For a team that D’Antoni proclaimed was “obviously” a contender, things look bleak.
With bad chemistry, injuries, and a questionable future, D’Antoni needs to figure out how to win some games … in seven seconds or less.
You, tell me.
