As the playoffs were set to tip off and it was determined that the Knicks and Celtics would face off in the first round, just about everyone picked Boston to prevail. However, New York was supposed to give the Cs all they could handle. That series, as you’ll remember, ended quickly by way of a sweep for Boston which was highlighted by injuries to Knicks Amar’e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups. Who knows if that impacted the eventual outcome of the series.
In Game 1 of that series, Chauncey hurt his left knee in the final minute of the contest and that was the last bit of ball he would play for the rest of the season. Toney Douglas assumed the starting role for the remaining three games. Douglas played admirably, but he lacks the experience, savvy and big shot ability that Chauncey possesses. That will come in time for Douglas, who is a Mario Chalmers type of player.
Not long after their season was over, the Knicks announced that they were picking up the $14.2M option to bring Chauncey back to the club. It is widely speculated that the 34-year old Billups will be back for just one more season and will serve as a stopgap with hopes that New York can lure Chris Paul or Deron Williams to Manhattan next summer.
Word out of Knicks country is that Chauncey is recovering nicely. Trainer Joe Abunassar has said that Billups is “doing good.” Chauncey just recently had an MRI on the knee and will begin preparing for next season within the next two weeks.
But then there’s Amar’e Stoudemire. In Game 2 of the Boston series, Amar’e pulled a back muscle and was never the same for the remaining time that he did play in the series. He was a shell of his normal self, lacking lift and explosiveness. With the trade deadline acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e and ‘Melo are supposed to be the long term answers for the future of the franchise. Both are still in their 20s and in the prime of their respective careers.
But two months after the fact, Stoudemire’s back still isn’t fully healed. The start of the new NBA season (whenever that may be) is still a ways away, but Stoudemire’s condition should be a reason for concern. Although it’s a muscle that’s giving him problems, it’s not good news that he isn’t all the way back considering he hasn’t played ball since mid-April. Yesterday, Amar’e was quoted as having said “My back is store. It’s a bit tight.” Sounds like what he was saying during the Boston series.
Stoudemire, Anthony, Billups and other Knicks teammates plan on getting together in July to start working out together, provided everyone is health enough. The fact that they are even eyeing July is a good sign, but lingering back issues for a player of Stoudemire’s caliber is reason enough to give any fan pause. If I had to guess, I’d say he’ll be fully healed come next season. Let’s just hope it won’t be a recurring back problem.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then you’ve come to the wrong place, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
