Why Amare’s Return will help the Knicks

By: Nick Solari

When the news was announced that Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks in late February of 2011, fans jumped for joy in excitement and anticipation of what he and Amar’e Stoudemire could do together in the Mecca of basketball.

Two and a half months later, the Knicks were dismantled by the Celtics in four games, and bounced out of the first round of the playoffs. Hope still existed, as ‘Melo averaged 26.3 points,  6.7 rebounds,  and 3 assists while shooting just over 46% from the field in the 26 games he played as a member of the Knicks.

In that same time, Amar’e played well, averaging 23.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 25 games. Both stayed healthy, and many felt it would just take a full season for the two to mesh and make a deep playoff run.

Last season, however, didn’t go quite as planned. Both players missed large amounts of time due to injuries, and even fire-extinguisher punching episodes during the playoffs. The diagnosis was simple: when the two were on the court at the same time, one was good and one was not-so-good. There was no rhythm or consistency to their offensive game together. The only time one player was exceptional was when the other was out for an extended period of time.

That team, boosted into the playoffs by the spark of Jeremy Lin, went on to lose in the first round to the eventual-champion Miami Heat. Though they made it one game further than the season before, taking this series to five games (yay?), it was needless to say the masses were unhappy with the progression of the team.

The dark cloud that resided over the Big Apple was not there just because the Knicks had lost. It was the fear that their ploy to team the two perennial all-star players up had not worked. In a heap of overreaction by media outlets and fans alike, people cited reasons such as the two had a very similar game, or that ‘Melo and Stoudemire did not get along on a personal level. Whatever the case, a loss was a loss.

And losing never bodes well for players and coaches in New York City.

Just like any other underachieving team in sports would do, the Knicks needed a scapegoat. Unfortunately for head coach Mike D’Antoni, he was the very change people were screaming for. Amidst a backlash of unhappy fans, D’Antoni met with Madison Square Garden chairman James L. Dolan and other team officials on March 14^th to announce he was resigning.

D’Antoni now coaches another struggling, big-market team in the Lakers. Who am I kidding, you didn’t need me to point that out. (If you did, you either live under a rock waiting for the day the NHLPA and league office agree to start the hockey season, in which case I feel sorry for you and your hopeless cause, or you’re a Bobcats fan and haven’t paid attention to the NBA since, well, the Bobcats became a team.)

Regardless, the event seemed like fate after Anthony was acquired 13 months prior, due to the two not seeing eye to eye on matters offensively. It was rumored that, at the end of D’Antoni’s coaching stint in New York, Carmelo was unhappy with his role. Carmelo wanted the ball in his hands more, and not in those of Jeremy Lin or anyone else.

‘Anyone else’ supposedly included Stoudemire.

So assistant coach Mike Woodson took over. After being named the temporary fill-in for the rest of the season, it was announced this past offseason that Woodson would stay with the Knickerbockers for another three years due to his success and good reputation amongst the players in the organization. (In other words, Carmelo Anthony liked him).

After posting a 17-6 record in the team’s final 23 regular season games, the culture began to change in that New York locker room.

Everyone knows what has happened since then. Under Woodson, the Knicks won eight of their first nine games and currently reside at 22-10, one game out of first to Miami.

The biggest reason for that? Well, if you ask a lot of NBA fans it would be that Amar’e has been hurt all season, allowing Anthony to be the without-a-doubt primary scorer.  Their argument would be that Carmelo needs space to create his own offense, and that he is most valuable in an isolation-type system.  His stats surely back that up: 29.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 47% from the field so far.

So Amare’s return will only be a detriment to Carmelo and the Knicks, right?

Wrong.

The reason for the success the Knicks are experiencing so far this season is in part there offensive firepower, but you can’t forget the focus Mike Woodson has brought to this team on the defensive end. With the fast-paced, offensive minded D’Antoni out, and the defensive guru Woodson in, the Knicks have improved by ten-fold. In particular, Carmelo Anthony’s defense has been much better and the rest of the team has followed its lead.

So adding Stoudemire’s lengthy shot-blocking and above average rebounding abilities can’t possibly hurt the Knicks defensively. In fact, it is my personal belief that he will help this cause once he starts logging serious minutes.

The counter argument to mine would then be that, again, Stoudemire is going to hinder the chemistry the Knicks already have with Carmelo taking over 20 shots per contest. Let’s dig deeper into that issue.

The fact of the matter remains that, in the first half-season the two played together in early 2011, both were very good. Again, the two accounted for almost 50 points per game (26.3 for Anthony, 23.1 for Stoudemire). This isn’t bad at all.

What bothers me is that a majority of people only evaluate last season when creating their argument that the two cannot play on the same court together, wearing the same uniform. The two were banged up all season long, which would lead me to think part of the numbers were a direct cause of just that. Injuries kill teams off every year, just as they did last year for the Knicks who were forced to face the best team in the league in the first round.

The Knicks have had one player all year who can put his back to the basket from 16 to 18 feet away from the rim and score, and it’s Carmelo Anthony (also there best perimeter scorer). So the assertion that Stoudemire’s return clogs up the court too much is mind-boggling. There are two sides to the court, you know? And beyond that, Anthony would rather have the ball on the perimeter and score, leaving the 6’11’’, 245 pound power forward plenty of room to roam in the paint.

Another underappreciated reason for Knicks success this year is the great point guard play they have gotten. Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd have both done an excellent job this season distributing and scoring when called upon.

In the past, Stoudemire has been one of the best pick-and-roll big men in the league. Working with Kidd and Felton, the Knicks may be able to find another form of scoring they have not had this season consistently.

Bottom line: You cannot win with just Carmelo Anthony or Amar’e Stoudamire, you need both to realistically compete at an NBA title this season. Consider the front runners who will presumably be in the hunt for a championship this year: the Heat, Thunder, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, and possibly even the Lakers. What is the one thing the Knicks do not have that the rest of those teams do? A consistent and reliable second-scorer.

In a best-of-seven series in the playoffs, when the defense really starts to pick up, you need guys you can count on every night to put the ball in the basket. Stoudemire can be that type of guy, and the Knicks need him to be if they have any hopes of making a deep run into the postseason.

That’s why the idea that his return is a detriment to the New York Knicks is simply untrue.

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