It’s all on Amar’e Stoudemire.
So says ESPN’s Magic Johnson, who believes Stoudemire’s health determines whether the Knicks give the Heat a scare this season — or even contend for the Atlantic Division title vs. Boston.
“I think it comes down to the health of Stoudemire and whether he will play a full season and he’s out again,” Johnson said on an ESPN/ABC conference call to promote its coverage that opens with Heat at Knicks on Nov. 2. “He just has to stay healthy because the last two years he hasn’t been able to. You can’t really just rely on Carmelo’s scoring. And (Marcus) Camby has to stay healthy too. (The team) is hurt right now.”
Stoudemire is out 2-3 weeks with a ruptured cyst in the back of his left knee and has played just one preseason game. He could miss at least the first five games of the season.
Johnson noted Iman Shumpert’s return — possibly in December — will also be the second key. “Shumpert was amazing defensively last year and they got to get him back,” Johnson said. “If they have a full team and they can stay healthy, yeah they could (challenge Miami) but they have to stay healthy.”
Jeff Van Gundy, who will call the game with Mike Breen on ESPN, cracked, “I was just thinking how old the Knicks are. When I was coaching them, Marcus and Kurt Thomas were on my team.”
Asked if the Knicks would regret letting Jeremy Lin flee for Houston, Johnson said there’s still a lot of questions for the former undrafted Harvard point guard to answer.
“Can he play that way for an 82-game season, can he be a great player over 82 games or is he a flash in the pan?” Johnson said.
Van Gundy spoke to the sketchy Anthony-Stoudemire dynamic. “They have to figure out how Anthony and Stoudemire fit together, whether it’s the 3 and the 4 or the 4 and 5 when Tyson Chandler is on the bench,” Van Gundy said. “They have to share the ball and keep their defensive intensity.”
Van Gundy said the Knicks should shoot for the division and dethroning Boston but said “there’s no guaranteed they are a top-4 seed.”
Van Gundy, meanwhile, predicted Oklahoma City not only to represent the West over the Lakers but to “win it all.”