The New York Knicks made clear in the off season that they’re in ‘win now’ mode. They sent phenom Jeremy Lin out of town and brought in a couple of ‘long in the tooth’ point guards in 39 year old Jason Kidd and 28 year old Raymond Felton–a veritable youngster by comparison. The Knicks ‘got older’ in the offseason but the hope is that they also ‘got better’ and can compete for a NBA championship in the near term. Worst case scenario is a team that ‘plays old’ and constantly deals with injury. Things aren’t getting off to a good start–superstar power forward Amare Stoudemire will miss the start of the season due to a ruptured popliteal cyst behind his left knee.
The official prognosis is 2 or 3 weeks and is the same knee that he’s had problems with throughout his entire career. He had microfracture surgery on this knee back in 2005. He had gone to the doctor to have a bone bruise examined and a MRI revealed the more serious injury. He’s also had other injuries ranging from a partially detached retina in his right eye to nagging lower back issues that caused him trouble during the 2012 playoffs.
Heading into training camp, the word on the street was that Stoudemire was in the best shape of his career. He was an active and full participant during the Knicks’ two a days practices earlier this summer New Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson has repeatedly gushed about Stoudemire’s physical condition and off season regimen.
New York enters the 2012-2013 season in the shadow of their crosstown rivals the Brooklyn Nets who have a superstar with ownership interest (Jay-Z) and high expectations as they play in a new city and new arena. Still, the Knicks are the eighth overall betting choice to win the NBA title. They face a tough schedule to start the regular season which begins on November 1. In their first four games they’ll play the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat. They’ll have to play these games without Stoudemire and there’s a good chance that he’ll miss several more games as his knee recovers fully.
