Stoudemire set to return
Says he's 80 percent sure he'll play Thursday

Suns forward Amaré Stoudemire could be back in action as quickly as Thursday night.

The All-Star big man, out since left knee surgery in October, said the chances were “80-20” that he’d play Thursday night when the Suns host the Portland Trail Blazers at U.S. Airways Center.

Stoudemire said today was the best he’d felt since the microfracture surgery and that, barring any swelling in his recently troublesome right knee on Thursday morning, he was hopeful that he’d be on the court vs. the Trail Blazers.

“If I wake up feeling good tomorrow, then it’s possible I’ll play,’’ Stoudemire said. “I tell you what, it’s been a long process, it’s been a long time coming. I just can’t wait to step foot back on that Phoenix logo.”

Coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire would play when he’s ready to play, deflecting questions on the specifics of Thursday night.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0322suns.html

Wow.

That's quick. Hopefully he is not coming back too early or anything like that.

even if he's feeling good i'd wait another week just to be safe.

Even if he's feeling good, I'd sit out the year. This situation has bad news written all over it, IMO.

Amare, please, sit out the rest of the year!

There's no need to come back and jeopardize your health.

Not to mention the chemistry of the team would be ruined if he were to come back. You can't just put someone in who commands as many touches as Amare into the offense and expect everything to be peachy. Just check out CWebb and the Kings two years ago.

They'll be in the WCF without him, so why risk his health?

Amare, please, sit out the rest of the year!

There's no need to come back and jeopardize your health.

Not to mention the chemistry of the team would be ruined if he were to come back. You can't just put someone in who commands as many touches as Amare into the offense and expect everything to be peachy. Just check out CWebb and the Kings two years ago.

They'll be in the WCF without him, so why risk his health?

[smilie=iagree.gif]

I think the Suns will very slowly and delicately work him into the lineup. They can't be that stupid.

The suns play a style of offense where he could just be thrown into the lineup.

They don't play team ball. They just run up and down and take the first open shot.

If he does suit up, he would be bested if he came off the bench and played 10 minutes graudally rising.

scary stuff. it sounds like a huge gamble. i wonder how his microfracture recovery will compare with guys like Kidd, Webber, and Penny Hardaway.

he's so damn young.....if it were me, i would have shut it down for the season.

Stat is back, will start tonight
D'Antoni says Suns big man will start tonight

It’s official.

Suns forward Amaré Stoudemire will return to action tonight at home against Portland — as a starter.

"I'm good and ready," Stoudemire said after Thursday's morning shootaround. "It feels good. It was a long time coming. Six months Tuesday (since the microfracture surgery), so it's been a long time since I set foot on the court. . . . I probably won't play too many minutes just to get involved and get the flow of the game back and try to get the chemistry going."

“We want to warm him up,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said after the Suns’ shootaround at US Airways Center this morning. “He’ll probably go the first three to four minutes and we’ll see how it goes and how he goes. We want to win games.”

Stoudemire has not played this season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee in October.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0323suns.html

I think he's coming back too soon. Time will tell.

From all accounts, this microfracture shit is nothing to be taken lightly.

Yeah, they replace cartiledge with dried blood. Fun!

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0328amare.html


Stoudemire will not play tonight
Star may miss several games

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
March 28, 2006


MILWAUKEE — Suns star Amaré Stoudemire will not play tonight and may not return to action for the remainder of this week's road trip, if not the season, unless there is improvement in his sore, stiff knees.

After an impressive season debut Thursday that was nearly six months after knee surgery, Stoudemire felt the condition of his knees regress in the next two games Saturday and Monday.

In Monday's loss to New Jersey, Stoudemire did not have any lift in his step or jump and said he could not get his knees to feel loose Sunday or Monday. He went scoreless on six shots in 14 minutes, fouling more than he rebounded Monday.

“We're not going to put him on the court when he is not fluid or doesn't feel good or he's laboring,” D'Antoni said of the decision to hold him out tonight against Milwaukee. “That doesn't do anybody any good. He's too important to the franchise to do that.”

D'Antoni said Stoudemire would try to play one-on-one, two- on-two and four-on-four scrimmages until his knees improve.

Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in October and had mod erate swelling recently in his right knee. He said he was hurting as he ran and jumped in Monday's loss to New Jersey, the third worst defeat in franchise history.

“It was pretty rough,” Stoudemire said after Monday's game. “Pain and stiffness. It was kind of rough out there.”

After playing the Bucks tonight, Phoenix has another back-to-back set Thursday and Friday with Indiana and Toronto and close the road trip Sunday in Detroit. The hope was Stoudemire could increase his playing time by the end of the trip, but his minutes wound up reduced with each game he has played. He is clearly not close to a successful return.

With only 13 regular season games remaining, any Stoudemire return could be in jeopardy.

“They say you go through it anyway but I don't want to feed into it,” Stoudemire said of the knee soreness. “I'm thinking it's supposed to be getting better and better each day and it's not. It's just the opposite.”

Like I said, this was a really, really bad idea.

Nobody comes back from microfracture rehab that soon. Of course the athlete is going to hang on to whatever wishful ideas his body is giving him. You don't become a player of that calibur WITHOUT being persistant.

It's the job of the trainer, the doctor and ultimately the team to keep him on the shelf as much as possible, regardless of what he's telling them.

10 years from now, Amare's still going to be a dominant force. It's the height of stupidity to risk the next decade for once season.

Any word on who forced the issue to bring him back?? I can't believe it would be the organization, Amare must have wanted to come back. However he's had to training camp to work his way into shape, he tried to just in during the play-off push, which you simply cannot do. The team needs to sit him down for the rest of the year, play-offs included.

If there is any doubt about your comeback whatsoever, you should sit out another month just because of that doubt. It sounds like he did make it worse.

Stoudemire to have surgery today on right knee
Arthroscopic procedure will address cyst
Suns forward probably done for season

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 5, 2006 12:00 AM

(He has been out all season because of his left knee.)


Amaré Stoudemire will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this morning and likely will not attempt another comeback this season, the Suns star's manager said.

Stoudemire decided to have an exploratory scope to address a Baker's cyst behind his right knee and determine what is causing the fluid to collect, said Stoudemire's manager, Rodney Rice. The right knee has troubled Stoudemire for five weeks, just as his surgically repaired left knee was improving for a three-game return.

"As of right now, I'd say he's not going to play again this season," Rice said. "I feel that's the best thing for him."
Suns team physician Thomas Carter, who will perform the surgery, has said there is no right knee defect like what was diagnosed before an October scope on Stoudemire's left knee. That lesion was larger than expected, prompting a microfracture procedure.

Possible causes for a Baker's cyst include general wear, torn meniscus or ligament damage. Rice said the doctors believe Stoudemire has nothing more than "wear and tear" with some debris to remove in the joint.

"Just to be sure and definite about that, Amaré wants to go in and make sure," Rice said.

Draining the cyst was an option, but the fluid could return. He is facing four to six weeks of down time. Stoudemire could participate in USA Basketball's July 19-25 camp in Las Vegas.

"Whether it happens a month or four months from now, nobody can say," Rice said of a possible return. "I'd like to think by the time USA Basketball goes to camp, Amaré will be 100 percent."

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0405amare0405.html
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I'm on the verge of making an Arnie Kander appreciation thread watching this debacle.