Every day it seems, the Knicks face another test of their depth and resolve.
The latest challenge to their talent and resolve came in the stunning news last night that Amar’e Stoudemire will be lost for six weeks with a right knee problem. Stoudemire missed the first two months of the season after undergoing a left knee procedure, returned and was emerging into a fearsome force before the latest setback.
“It’s got to be way tough for him, especially when he gets it rolling like that,” said guard Iman Shumpert, who knows a thing or two about knee injuries. “He’s been rolling the past couple weeks, finally got into the rhythm after coming off an injury. To see him go down again, it hurts me but he’s tough. We know he’ll get through it and be back for the playoffs.”
The Knicks learned about Stoudemire’s latest setback last night before gametime. If they were rocked and rolled by the news, it didn’t show on the court as they dismantled an overmatched, outclassed Jazz team, 113-84, in a game that seemed even worse than the score indicated.
“We wanted to step up for our teammate, absolutely,” said Tyson Chandler, who pointed to the defensive effort that held the Jazz to .385 shooting and 59 points through three quarters. “But before that we understood where we stand.
“Amare’s been playing great of late, bringing great post play. Not having him obviously is a big blow to our team but I’ve been saying consistently this team is built on depth so when one guy goes down another guy steps up.”
A guy like Kenyon Martin, signed to a pair of 10-day contracts, a guy quickly winning over the Garden crowd.
“I’m excited,” said Martin (10 points, six rebounds, 22 minutes). “It’s unfortunate, Amar’e going down, that you have to benefit from something like that but I’m going to take advantage of that and try to help this team win.”
He did that last night. So did Steve Novak (20 points) and J.R. Smith (24 points). Even Chris Copeland, who played once since Feb. 4, got in the game. And they needed everybody, especially with Carmelo Anthony sitting a third straight game with a sore and stiff knee.
“Obviously, those are our main two we-throw-it-to-and-they-create-their-own-shot scorers for us,” Novak said. “So I think our approach has got to be a little different.”
Use last night’s approach and there will be no complaints.