Amar'e appears on Letterman, passes Garnett
New York Knicks center Amar'e Stoudemire (1) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. (Dec. 15, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Amar'e Stoudemire wasn't home from the four-game West Coast trip for half a day before he was back out in the spotlight, sitting on the set of the Ed Sullivan Theater for an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman.''
He literally limped back from the West with a sore calf and a shoulder that went numb for a few seconds after he suffered a stinger early in Wednesday night's loss to the Jazz.
"It's still pretty sore,'' Stoudemire said of the shoulder. "It got hit pretty hard in the first quarter, lost some feeling in there, you know, the stinger. But I'll be OK.''
Every time Stoudemire shows the slightest expression of pain, the entire franchise winces. His presence has meant so much to the turnaround of the Knicks, from a 29-win team to a playoff hopeful to a team that now believes it can win a round. They need him every night, but can he make it through the entire 82- game schedule and still have something left in the tank for the playoffs?
He did last season in Phoenix, and what was most amazing about that was that he seemed to get stronger later in the season. He was arguably the best player in the NBA after the All-Star break.
"If you can play all 82, then great, but if you have to sit out one or two games because you're banged up, then you sit out one or two,'' he said. "It depends on the situation, but if you're a competitive player, you want to play in every game.''
The January schedule, which continues Friday night against the Kings at home, has been challenging, but things loosen up dramatically in February. Stoudemire won't get that much of a rest, though, because there is no doubt he will be in Los Angeles for All-Star weekend. And it could be as a starter, which the Knicks haven't had in more than 20 years. The most recent fan voting returns were released by the NBA Thursday and Stoudemire has passed Kevin Garnett by 100,000 votes for the second starting forward position on the Eastern Conference team.
Stoudemire might not be the lone Knicks representative that weekend. Raymond Felton is expected to get strong consideration from the East coaches for a spot as a reserve.
And who knows? The Knicks could have three players on the All-Star team if a trade for Carmelo Anthony is completed before then. Donnie Walsh and his staff have been working to put together a lucrative package to offer the Nuggets and have talked with various other teams to assist in the deal. ESPN.com reported Thursday night that the Knicks have checked in with the Grizzlies about possibly including former lottery pick O.J. Mayo in a package to offer to Denver.
An NBA source familiar with the Grizzlies' plans said that despite what they have said publicly, Mayo is "way, way, way available'' for a trade. They are down on Mayo, who recently got into a fight with teammate Tony Allen on the team plane.
The Knicks have yet to make any formal offers for Anthony, nor have they engaged in serious negotiations with the Nuggets. The plan is to put together a formidable package - the Knicks also can offer Denver immediate cash relief with Kelenna Azubuike's expiring contract, which will be insurance-paid after Game 41 - to compete with the Nets' offer, which remains on the table.
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