Stoudemire returns to surging Knicks

Amar'e Stoudemire returns to the Knicks Monday after spending a week in Florida grieving the loss of his older brother Hazell in a car wreck.

Stoudemire rejoins a team that has done nothing but win in his absence, with Jeremy Lin becoming the NBA's best feel-good story of the season, if not this century. Stoudemire probably could use something positive in his life right now, an escape from his family tragedy.

The Knicks don't know what to expect from Stoudemire emotionally, and they said they will be there to give him whatever support he needs. But they know what kind of player he can be in a system in which the point guard controls the offense and runs the pick-and-roll well.

"I can't wait to get him back," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We should go to another level, no doubt about it."

The Knicks (13-15) have won five straight games, four without Stoudemire and three minus him and Carmelo Anthony, who could return this week from a groin injury suffered in last Monday's win over Utah.

The Knicks would seem to be much better with their two best players. But questions already have arisen about how the team will play when Stoudemire and Anthony are back. Both are dominant offensive players and need the ball. Lin has shown he needs it, too. Remarkably, in this five-game stretch, Lin has averaged 19.4 shots, more than what Anthony (18.8) and Stoudemire (15.5) have taken this season.

Lin's numbers will go down when Stoudemire and Anthony return, and there probably will be some adjusting because the three haven't played much together. The biggest challenge may be getting Anthony, one of the NBA's best isolation players, comfortable in an offense that is back to running a high percentage of pick-and-rolls.

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Earlier this season, Anthony was asked about D'Antoni's offense and called it a "quote-unquote system," then laughed. But it's again proving its effectiveness when a guard who can break down defenders and read defenses is running it.

"He's really changed the mind-set and mentality of this team," Tyson Chandler said. "We were really struggling and fighting the offense, and you get a point guard in here and the way he's distributing the ball -- he's doing a lot of scoring, but it's just what the defense is giving him. He's making the right decision. Because of that, the offense is flowing and it's giving a lot of guys confidence."

D'Antoni has to find ways to keep Steve Novak and Jared Jeffries in the rotation and productive. They've been the unsung players during this winning streak. Novak is averaging 15.6 points and has made 16 of 31 threes in the last four games. Jeffries' defense, hustle and selflessness have been invaluable.

The Knicks also have become a closer-knit group on and off the court. Winning has a way of bringing everyone together, and it has become a "lovefest," according to D'Antoni. "It's becoming sloppy," he said. "But stuff like this, when you have good people and you play the game the right way and you play hard, you start to feel something in your heart. When you do that, anything is possible."

That's why the Knicks can't wait to get their stars back to see what's possible for this team.