Amar'e Stoudemire remains out and his return is still unclear
Amar'e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks in action against the Sacramento Kings. (Feb. 15, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
But Stoudemire won’t play tonight or tomorrow at the Nets.
The earliest he would return from a bulging disk in his back is Friday at Cleveland with Sunday in Atlanta being a possibility. Nothing is nothing is official.
Stoudemire was slated to miss 2-4 weeks after getting an epidural in his back, which he got three weeks ago Thursday.
Woodson continues to say Stoudemire is "day-to-day," and it will be up to the Knicks power forward and the doctors as to when he returns. It could be closer to four weeks. The Knicks end the regular season is next Thursday, April 26, at Charlotte.
“If he comes back and says I want to play the last game, that’s all we got,” Woodson said. “I can’t worry about it.
“I want Amar’e back in uniform because I think he’s a big piece of what we’re trying to do in New York and he adds a lot to our team. If he comes back and says ‘hey, I’m going to play in the playoffs,’…maybe he might do that, I don’t know.
“If he does, I’m accepting that because we need Amar’e.”
Whenever Stoudemire returns he will need some time to get his rhythm and timing back, and he probably won’t have the explosiveness he had before injuring his back in the March 24 win against the Pistons.
That also was the last time Stoudemire spoke to the media.
The Knicks have six games remaining and began the day in seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They’re tied with Philadelphia, but own the tiebreaker because they won the season series battle. Milwaukee is in ninth, two games back.
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