TORONTO — There probably will be darker injury days ahead for these Knicks, so this one afternoon at Humber College in the Toronto suburbs was cause for a bit of celebration.
Amar’e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith were back, scrimmaging for the first time this season, testing their knees and passing with flying colors. Coach Mike Woodson looked as happy as a Maple Leafs hockey fan sipping a Molson.
The media was not permitted to watch the scrimmage — an indication of how tense the situation is — but the smiles on their faces were a dead giveaway that all went well.
Stoudemire said afterward he’s still on target to play the season opener Oct. 30 versus Milwaukee. Woodson said he thinks Smith will play the preseason finale Friday at the Garden. That way the clock on his five-game drug suspension can start. Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin, who also scrimmaged, likely will be held out of the preseason finale.
The Knicks play the Bucks Wednesday in an exhibition game in Green Bay.
“It went great,’’ Stoudemire said. “I finished the scrimmage strong. My legs felt stronger as they’ve never been before. No discomfort at all. No pain at all. Great, great sign.’’
Woodson said Smith looked as good as new and was optimistic about Stoudemire.
“It was good to see Amar’e and J.R. back on the floor,’’ Woodson said. “That’s a lot of talent and depth. If we’re able to stay healthy and no setbacks, we have a lot of depth.
“The way J.R. moved today, it was as if he didn’t miss a beat. But it was only a 10-minute scrimmage.’’
Smith is coming off mid-July knee surgery to repair a chipped patella tendon and torn meniscus. Stoudemire was shut down all summer and didn’t start aggressively rehabbing from his minor knee surgery in July until training camp started — by design.
“Playing [the opener] is the ultimate goal,’’ Stoudemire said. “I didn’t play the opener last year. I want to this year.’’
Smith said he didn’t take any 3-pointers during the scrimmage, but drove lots to the hoop. He admitted he still didn’t have the explosion.
“I did everything — first time in a long time,’’ Smith said. “It felt great. I thought my wind was there. I thought I would be more exhausted than I am. It felt good to get out there with teammates, talk trash a little bit out there, put imprint as player instead of [as] a coach.
“The most important thing is trying to get your explosives back,’’ Smith added. “Right now it’s not where I want it to be. I’m trying to get my left leg as good as my right — if not better. I was able to step back with no pain, feeling as comfortable as possible was the best part.”
But he acknowledged he wasn’t a high-flier yesterday.
“I lost a little bit of strength from the athletic ability, not jumping as high as I was,’’ he said. “That will come when I get my legs fully under me.’’
Smith will be unleashed once his suspension is up. Stoudemire will be under a careful plan in which his minutes will be capped at about 20-25 minutes per game and he won’t play both ends of back-to-backs.
“From a scientific standpoint, a day of recovery makes a world of difference,’’ Stoudemire said. “NBA players don’t get a lot of recovery time and injuries do occur. We’re taking a scientific method of recovery time, to sit out back-to-backs to get recovery time and be strong for the following game.’’
Smith said he won’t allow any limits on him, even early on. In fact, Woodson’s goal is to have him as the starting shooting guard.
“No minutes restriction,’’ Smith said. “I’m coming back out to be at full strength, a full head of steam with no restrictions. If I’m on restrictions, I’m not at the best ability to help the team.’’
As far as possibly losing the sixth-man role, Smith said: “It’ll be time when Coach Woodson says it’s time. It’s all about the team. I have to take individual accolades and take it out of [the equation].’’
Smith said it won’t be difficult to sit out the first five games because of the support he has gotten from brass.
“I’ve got a great supporting cast,’’ Smith said. “From Steve Mills, to Allan Houston and Coach Woodson, everybody’s been supportive on the suspension. When that time comes, we’ll take it as a team. I’ll root guys as much as I can and push them in practice.’’