It would be better to have him of course, but the team is deep enough to go without.

Now I get to see Melo double teamed nightly.

VCoug wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:Knicks need Amare's scoring.

Now in get to see Melo double teamed nightly.

That's why we need Novak in the starting lineup. When teams double Melo he'll have someone to pass to that can actually shoot.

Amare out only another month is a blessing to me. I thought he would be out for the entire year.

AnubisADL wrote:

VCoug wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:Knicks need Amare's scoring.

Now in get to see Melo double teamed nightly.

That's why we need Novak in the starting lineup. When teams double Melo he'll have someone to pass to that can actually shoot.

Novak cannot create his own shot.

He doesn't need to, when the defense collapses on Melo when he drives or posts up Novak should be left to shoot open jumpers. I'm not asking him to be Ray Allen out there but more like Steve Kerr or Bruce Bowen on offense.

earthmansurfer wrote:http://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/10/28/3569218/knicks-amare-stoudemire-got-that-second-opinion

I was part of the group that kinda freaked out when news broke that Amar'e Stoudemire was seeking a second opinion on his knee injury, so it's funny that I didn't notice Nate Taylor's follow-up until our own prfella pointed it out today. Anyway, there is no further bad news, at least for now:

Dr. Thomas Carter, whom Stoudemire consulted for a second opinion on the ruptured cyst in his left knee, mainly agreed with the Knicks’ medical staff: Stoudemire should be healthy by roughly the end of November

Carter’s assessment of Stoudemire’s knee matched most of what the Knicks thought in terms of the severity of the injury and how long it would take to heal, said Happy Walters, Stoudemire’s agent. But Walters used the phrase "several more weeks" in describing what Carter felt should be the appropriate length of Stoudemire’s rehabilitation. The Knicks initially said Stoudemire would return to the team within two to three weeks.

So yeah, the expected recovery time is longer than the two to three weeks we were initially told, but I doubt any of us took the Knicks at their word anyway. There's no question that Amar'e's knee issues are chronic and unlikely to disappear entirely, but this particular issue is still viewed (and by someone other than the Knicks, at that) as something that can be handled in a month or less. Cool.

I say we bring him off the bench. It is just taking too much of a chance to have him in and out of the starting lineup.

End of November can be anything from the 20th onwards. Basically, Knicks said 2 to 3 weeks, Suns doc said 4 to 5 weeks. He injured it on the 19th October. It's a shame, because if he could have been back in 2 weeks, we only had about 1 game in 7 days, so he would have had plenty of practice time. End of November is pretty packed for us, game wise.

All that conditioning work he did in the offseason will be undone in a month of inaction- must be really annoying for him. I hope he is able to put this behind him and have a great season.

martin wrote:

VCoug wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:

VCoug wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:Knicks need Amare's scoring.

Now in get to see Melo double teamed nightly.

That's why we need Novak in the starting lineup. When teams double Melo he'll have someone to pass to that can actually shoot.

Novak cannot create his own shot.

He doesn't need to, when the defense collapses on Melo when he drives or posts up Novak should be left to shoot open jumpers. I'm not asking him to be Ray Allen out there but more like Steve Kerr or Bruce Bowen on offense.

Novak can't guard my grandma. He's a second stringer who gets lost on D against other second stringers. And you want him to start?

3G4G wrote:

VCoug wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:Knicks need Amare's scoring.

Now in get to see Melo double teamed nightly.

That's why we need Novak in the starting lineup. When teams double Melo he'll have someone to pass to that can actually shoot.

We're already porous at rebounding and at disadvantages on defense. Starting Novak is not a remedy to solve either issue. Not sure why fans tend to lean towards looking at the game of basketball through offense only glasses.

It's probably best to start Copeland or Kurt if we are to keep Melo at the 3, as he already stated he doesn't want to play the 4. Felton is going to become a higher offensive priority slash option......it is what it is.

Since the Phx doctor recommends more time for Amar'e to recover what does this mean from here on out with how the team handles his recovery time from injuries(involving his knees)?

Does Amare solve those problems? And yes, I'm trying to fix the offense. We were the 5th best defensive team in the league last year and the 17th ranked offense. Marginal improvements in defense and rebounding won't make us a better team, we need to become better offensively if we're going to compete with the Heat, Spurs, Thunder, Bulls, and Lakers all top 10 teams offensively last season.

GustavBahler wrote:I hope at the very least that they bring Stat off the bench at first. Maybe he will like playing with the second unit without Melo on the floor for stretches, having Kidd and Prigs feeding him the ball is a nice luxury to have. They can still put Stat and Melo in together at the end of games so nobody feels slighted.

So where is the second scorer coming from if STAT is on the bench??..STAT has to play at least 35 minutes per game for the Knicks to be successful..he has to play with Anthony at some point...How do we compete if we only have one legit scorer on the floor when top teams start at least three...