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Amar’e Stoudemire made a name for himself in the NBA running the pick-and-roll with Steve Nash in Mike D’Antoni’s freewheeling Suns offense.
Stoudemire returned to the Knicks yesterday after spending a week in Florida with his family grieving the death of his older brother, Hazell, and said he sees some of Nash in point-guard sensation Jeremy Lin.
“I see similarities in their games,” Stoudemire said after yesterday’s practice. “Lin, he’s finding guys out there, he’s playing totally unselfish, he’s taking what the defense gives him and he’s studying.
“That’s what you want from your point guard, a guy who wants to be that facilitator and get guys involved and get guys open shots and pass the ball right on the numbers where they can catch and shoot. … It’s what we’ve been talking about all year, and it’s finally happened.”
Stoudemire may have had other things on his mind, but he and his family were keeping an eye on the Knicks while he was away. He said he got a chance to watch all four games, and he and his family enjoyed seeing the evolution of Linsanity.
“The only positive for us during that whole week was watching the basketball games,” he said. “We were watching Linsanity, and my family was getting a kick out of it. That’s really the only smiles they had all week, so it was great to see that, but it’s been a tough week.”
Much has been made of the absence of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, who has been out with a strained groin, during much of the current-five game winning streak and how they will fit in upon their returns.
But Stoudemire, who thrives off the pick-and-roll, seems perfectly suited to slip seamlessly back into the offense.
“It should only enhance [Stoudemire’s] game,” D’Antoni said. “Again, having a point guard puts him back in his comfort zone. His comfort zone is the pick-and-roll and his comfort zone is getting fed for dunks, so that should help him. It should help everybody.”
For his part, Lin said he is looking forward to having a second pick-and-roll partner on the floor, after successfully running it with Tyson Chandler.
“I think we’ll help each other,” said Lin, who was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week yesterday. “He commands a lot of attention, but at the same time you can give it to him anywhere and he can make a play. … It’s my job to get him going, get him shots [and] get him the ball where he likes it.”
All season long, despite the presence of two scorers as gifted as Stoudemire and Anthony, the Knicks offense stopped and started because of the struggles at point guard, the most crucial position in D’Antoni’s system.
But now, after spending the first 18 games of the season searching for an answer, they found one sitting at the end of their bench.
“We tried every point guard we had, and we saved the best for last, I guess,” Stoudemire said with a smile. “I think it’s something special right now. Mike D’Antoni is a phenomenal offensive coach. He has an understanding of how to get the best out of your point guards.
“He did it with Steve Nash, did it with Raymond Felton and now with Jeremy Lin. It’s going to be fun to play.”