He should not be feeling pain in his knee everytime his plays.

Stoudemire feels doubted by team

Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

The pain has returned to Amaré Stoudemire's surgically repaired knees, and he said after Thursday's practice that he doesn't believe the Suns organization has complete confidence that he'll be the same player he was before the injuries.

"I don't think so," Stoudemire said when asked about the team's belief in his full recovery. "I think they're waiting on me to show them. It's up to me to get back there."

Coach Mike D'Antoni said Stoudemire did "almost everything" in practice Thursday but is still "a little stiff here and there."
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"You have to ask him more than me," D'Antoni said. "He looked OK. He didn't play a whole lot. He looks a little better. He's getting a little more athletic."

Stoudemire was able to do more than he did on Wednesday, and said he has had "sharp" pain in the knees the past two days. He reiterated what he said during the team's training camp in Italy - that he's going to need recovery days to recuperate. He said his recent setback is similar to what he experienced in Europe after going hard for "seven or eight days in a row."

He said that during the past couple of weeks he hasn't taken a day off except when the whole team was off.

He also said that during the season when the Suns play back-to-back games, he might need a recovery day at practice. Whether he gets the blessing of D'Antoni and the Suns organization remains to be seen.

"I haven't talked to them yet, but I definitely hope so," Stoudemire said.

But Stoudemire sounded as if he believes he has the support of the team.

"I hope so," he said. "I'm definitely doing whatever I can. . . . Whatever they've asked me to do; I'm definitely doing it. I pushed through the pain pretty much the whole practice."

Getting it
D'Antoni said that guard Marcus Banks is improving, mostly because of effort. Banks was signed to back up Steve Nash but looked out of sorts at times during the preseason in the Suns up-tempo system.

"His whole thing, when he plays with high energy he can be really, really good," D'Antoni said. "And that's where we've got to get him."

D'Antoni said it's a matter of appreciating the urgency of every possession when playing for a team that is going to be in the championship hunt and vying for home-court advantage throughout as much of the playoffs as possible.

"I don't know how to put this delicately," D'Antoni said. "Every possession isn't important when you're not going to be in the playoffs and you're down 20 points every night. To us, every possession is important."

He said he has spoken with Banks about playing with higher energy.



Injury update
Boris Diaw had a sore back after being hit during Wednesday's practice, but D'Antoni said he should be fine by today.

Leandro Barbosa, who has had a sore toe, practiced and D'Antoni said he's "fine."

Posted by TheGame:

Posted by oohah:

He should not be feeling pain in his knee everytime his plays.

I am not sure about that. Pain when coming backi sinevitable becuase it is a shock after going so much time without stressing the knee and it is like: WTF!?!?!?

oohah

Well, I agree that there may be some pain just due to the surgery and pushing the knee for the first time. However, the article states that he has been feeling sharp pain for awhile and that he thinks he will need recovery days. That seems like more than the normal amount of pain that he should be experiencing and suggests to me that he is coming back too soon. However, I will concede that I am not an expert on that subject. Has anyone else had this type of knee surgury that wants to weigh in?

I've had it, along with 4 other surgeries of a similar nature, that's why I have a pretty good idea what he is going through. My microfracture did not work worth balls. I finally had to have a cartilage transplant and I feel much better. But my knee still hurts with any real stress. knee surgery can leave you sore for months and months and he had another surgery this past May.

I don't have a good feeling about him becoming the same high-flyer.

oohah

Posted by BlueSeats:

Because these aren't injuries he's experiencing but cartilage deficiencies, I get the feeling Amare will come back, suffer through pain for two or three years and then need another set of surgeries, and the cycle will repeat itself.