No Amare, Big Problem
By David Pincus (3/31/2006)
When I turned in to see Amare Stoudemire’s first game back with the Suns,
I was very surprised to see him starting rather than coming off the bench. And
sure enough, the Suns have been given a warning.
Stoudemire could miss the final regular season games and is back on the
inactive list after only two games. Why on Earth would a team that has already
clinched the #3 spot even attempt to bring back their leading scorer.
Against a team like Portland, who has the worst record in the West, scoring
20+ isn’t impressive or necessary. Especially not after yesterday’s game, where
Phoenix trailed 80-39 at one point versus New Jersey. I understand that he
should get some playing time to prepare for the postseason, but if he’s not
going to be weaned into it then there isn’t a point.
Coaches don’t get it. Look at Jermaine O’Neal, who is already starting after
just five games back with the Pacers. In the game at Miami, he had to go into
the locker room for spraining his groin. Yet he continues to start. Because he
will continue playing until he breaks, it’s likely that O’Neal will get yet
another injury rather soon. People assume that just because an athlete served
his time on the DL that he go right back in the rotation. The perfect example is
Kerry Wood, who at age 21 missed the entire 1999 season. Now look at him; it’s
2006 and he just yesterday went on the DL. The year off didn’t help him at all,
so why should it for Amare?
Stoudemire received the same knee surgery than Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill and
Allan Houston had. Those three had their careers decimated after they returned
from surgery and were never the same. Carlos Boozer played 5-15 minutes per
night in his first 10 games back from injury; it wasn’t until he proved he could
play off the bench that he finally became a starter.
John Smoltz missed a huge amount of games with the Braves and his career
appeared to be over. However he then became a closer, never got injured, and has
been a starter without injury since. Schilling came back as a closer last year
and avoided injury. If Mike D’Antonio really wants the Suns to be a contender,
he should push Stoudmire to bench minutes.
If Amare Stoudemire is really the Suns’ franchise player, then they must do
everything possible for him to avoid all injuries. If he has to miss the regular
season, so be it. If he has to miss the postseason, so be it. All long as he’s
healthy in the long run, nothing that happens this year matters. Unless someone
in charge is insane, there is no reason for Stoudemire to play another regular
season game.
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