Amar'e (ankle) unsure about Kings game
Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony talk during their preseason game against the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden. (Dec. 21, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES -- While the rest of the Knicks were practicing their shooting Friday morning -- desperately needed work, judging by the first two games of this West Coast trip -- Baron Davis was practicing patience.
Of course, the two are related; the Knicks miss a savvy point guard even more than they have been missing their shots.
They also might be missing Amar'e Stoudemire in Sacramento on Saturday night. He sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter of the Knicks' 99-82 loss to the Lakers on Thursday night and did not play the final minutes. He seemed to be walking on it without much trouble Friday morning but said it still was sore.
"We're going to take precautionary measures to make sure we know where we're going,'' he said during the team's workout at USC. "We're going to bombard the ankle with treatment to see how it feels."
But at worst, Stoudemire is day-to-day. Davis' herniated disc still is weeks away from being healed. He said the timetable hasn't changed since he joined the Knicks last week and said it looks like an eight-to-10-week process. "I ask him about every hour," Mike D'Antoni joked Thursday.
The Knicks, including Davis, are careful not to say anything that would reflect poorly on Toney Douglas, who is learning on the fly how to be an NBA starting point guard. But all of the talk after two lackluster offensive showings -- 40 percent shooting against the Warriors, 31 percent against the Lakers, 24 total points in the two fourth quarters -- says plenty between the lines. The fact that the flow isn't there, the rhythm isn't right, that they're not in sync offensively: Those are all conditions that probably could be soothed by a steady hand at the point.
When D'Antoni was asked specifically about how much a healthy, experienced point guard could help, he said: "Obviously, but we've got to win games in the meantime. And we can do that."
The way to do that is the same way a person handles the thought of two more months of incremental healing in a bad back. "Just be patient," Davis said. "Patient with yourself, with the offense, and understand that this offense is geared to getting people open shots. It's just a matter of us understanding the patience it takes to be an offensively efficient team."
Sure, he said, he sits on the bench and thinks about how he might make a difference. But he insists the Knicks can do just fine until he is healthy. "I know where I can fit in and I know where I can help this team,'' he said. "I know where I can help this team just being on the bench, encouraging my teammates, telling them what I see on the floor.
"This is only the third game into a rushed season. The way I look at it, this is still like training camp, preseason. A lot of the teams that are going to be there in the end are not playing great basketball right now, some teams are. This happens."
Stoudemire said he has been encouraging Douglas: "He's trying to figure out his niche. What we tell him is to be himself. Play basketball with no pressure, no worries. Have fun. It will happen for us. Every player is different. Toney is great in his own way, Baron is great in his own way."
Still, it is easy to believe the Knicks would be circling the date for Davis' return if they only knew when that will be. "I wish I could," he said. "I'd circle all of them, if it were up to me."
Notes & quotes: Stoudemire said after Thursday night's game that he sprained his ankle trying to make a move on offense. "I rolled down the lane. I forget who it was, but he put a shoulder into me. He hit me on the roll and I twisted my ankle," Stoudemire said.
He wouldn't say whether the tight scheduling -- the Knicks are back home Monday and Wednesday -- will have any impact on whether he plays Saturday night. "It's not really my decision," he said before starting treatment Friday. "It's up to the training staff."
