Peter Vecsey
HOOP DU JOUR
In case of ire, break glass.
Summing up L’affaire Apostroph’e, suffice to say Amar’e Stoudemire was feeling fairly discouraged when he debilitated himself by going weak-minded to the window pane.
And, should the Knicks find a team who won’t look under Stoudemire’s hood if they don’t ask for a CARFAX on their looming lemon(s), he’ll be deported.
Come to think of it, his former Frat House offered him three seasons. Why not the final three seasons of his contract in Phoenix? Owner Robert Sarver might jump at the chance to unload amnesty objective Josh Childress and, to a lesser degree, Channing Frye, owed roughly $42 million over the next three seasons, as opposed to Stoudemire’s $65 million.
AP
NO FACTOR: Amare Stoudemire watches from the baseline with his arm in a sling at the Garden before the Knicks' 87-70 loss in Game 3 of their playoff aganist the Heat.
Too bad Rashard Lewis didn’t have more than one year ($26.69 million; a mere $10 million guaranteed) left on his Wizards contract. Andray Blatche would find out he didn’t have all that much to learn after all.
Just so you understand where I stand, not for a second do I buy Stoudemire’s spin that his froth was triggered by the Knicks’ 3-0 deficit.
You don’t lose complete control because a superior team dominates yours.
You snap and pop an unflinching fire extinguisher wall container because you’ve been devalued and disrespected since Carmelo Anthony arrived in New York.
You lose it because, pre-Melo, you were hailed by Madison Square Garden chants as “MVP … MVP” and now you’re an offensive afterthought.
You strike out crazily because Anthony automatically received top billing on the marquee and on the ballroom, where he has the freedom to gun it on red, in traffic, whereas your participation is no longer rhythmic or with any regularity …
… By design and decline.
It has reached the point where opponents not only stopped doubling Stoudemire, they started cheating off him. Why go out and guard when he so seldom sniffs leather and, even when he does, his jumper is jammed? All they need to do is meet him at the rim where finishing with a flush has resulted in failure or a trip to the foul line.
No wonder Stoudemire came unhinged. He went from pack leader to a Nowhere Man in a Nowhere Land, a non-entity at macho forward trying to stay out of the way of Anthony and Tyson Chandler, and a fill-in at center when the NBA’s newly crowned defensive player of the year needs a blow.
Stoudemire is frustrated twice over, it says here. Frustrated he has become a role player. Frustrated he has lost the exclamation on his elevation.
Most players are in their prime at 29. Stoudemire is looking in the hour glass and at his medical chart and realizes he peaked years ago. His point average in the last six postseasons: 29, 25, 23, 22, 14 and 13 in two games against the Heat.
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Stoudemire, Amare Stoudemire, Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Josh Childress, Owner Robert Sarver, Channing Frye, Andray Blatche, Peter VecseyHOOP DU JOURIn, Frat House, Rashard Lewis
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