STAT's Knee

STAT is projected to miss the first six weeks

So apparently Amar'e Stoudemire is projected to miss the first six-eight weeks of the 2012 NBA season with a knee injury. If this is true it's bad news for the Knicks, as they will be without arguably their best  player for at least the first month. Nothing has been confirmed by the team so at this point it is all speculation based on a report by Chris Broussard, who has been drastically wrong in the past in terms of rumors (see Knicks, Lebron or Knicks, Howard or Knicks, Paul).

If you ask me, I would tend to side with this is an exaggeration, and that STAT won't be out for that long just based on the procedure he had done. A cyst in his knee was removed, which is probably about the equivalent of arthroscopic knee surgery, which players have returned from within 1-2 weeks. However, Stoudemire has shown in the past he is a team player, but he will put the team in a bind to make sure his health and future aren't put further in jeopardy. Keeping that in mind, it wouldn't surprise me if he did sit out for a while, after all he plans on being in the NBA for some time down the road.

His absence will no doubt put the Knicks in a tough spot right out of the gate, and I'll be interested to see what Mike Woodson does with the lineup. If it were me I would probably go with something like...

PG: Raymond Felton 

SG: J.R. Smith

SF: Ronnie Brewer

PF: Carmelo Anthony

C: Tyson Chandler

This way you still get the added defense Brewer brings, and you can replace the scoring of Stoudemire with Smith. It will be a challenge for Anthony to guard opposing four's, but he will kill it on the offensive end. Now I know Stoudemire is a subpar rebounder, but the guy is still 6' 11" and does his fair share, so without him rebounding with this lineup will be an increasingly difficult aspect of the game. Melo has proven he is an excellent rebounder from the small forward position, but when he is boxing out guys like Kris Humphries and Josh Smith, it becomes a different game. 

The real reason that this injury scares me as a fan is the "what if Melo kills it?" idea. Now as a fan, if this team is winning with a lineup not featuring Stoudemire I will not be able to complain. People have been saying that Melo is a better 4 than 3 and if he comes out firing on all cylinders, then the argument will only continue to grow. What do you do if you are Woodson and something like this happens? Do you bring STAT off the bench, or put him back in the lineup? If you are the management, do you look to trade him for picks, or young talent? I believe that STAT can still help this team make playoff, or even championship run, but this injury could potentially open some eyes, and ultimately be the end of STAT in New York.