Howard Simmons/New York Daily News
Carmelo Anthony muscles up to Celtics en route to triple-double, but true test will come when Amar'e Stoudemire returns.
Once Amare Stoudemire returns from his back injury, perhaps Friday night in Cleveland, hes not going to be coming in off the bench for Mike Woodson.
No!' Woodson practically shouted Tuesday night, when asked about Stoudemire moving to a reserve role. Hes absolutely starting.
Its the right move, too.
Now, could it backfire on Woodson and mess the Knicks up when the playoffs start? Of course. In the times when Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have been on the court together, over the last 13-odd months, it hasnt exactly been a pairing that reminds anyone of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Theyve had their rough spots, all right, two Alpha scorers competing for touches, points and the spotlight. Their record when they play together 28-36 shows it hasnt been a good fit.
But Woodson wants to go into the postseason giving himself the best chance of winning. Even by outgunning the Ray Allen-less Celtics at the Garden, 118-110, when Steve Novak made like Allen by hitting eight of 10 threes on Tuesday, it still looks as if the Knicks are stuck in the No. 7 hole, destined to encounter LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the first round.
Thats a death sentence.
But Woodson knows that John Calipari remains in play to come to the Garden, particularly if Jim Dolan thinks he needs a big name to coach his team and throws some ridiculous money at Kentuckys championship coach. So if the Knicks can pull off the upset, or if they can give the Heat four or five tough games, if it is Miami, and he can get his two stars on the same page, he might get the interim tag removed.
As the head coach Ive got to see if this thing is going to work, Woodson said. I know, you look at the numbers, well, Melo and Amare, it didn't work early in the year, and it didnt work with Jeremy Lin. But my thing is, I look at things differently. Ive got to make it work. Im going to bring Amare back when he decides to come back and hes going to start and were going to make it work. Thats what Im going to make happen.
He didnt say how.
They got to play the right way to win, said Woodson, sounding like Larry Brown.
Its not as if Woodson is about to screw up some great team. The Knicks are only three games over .500 and still tryi ng to clinch. They wont be favored to win anything once the playoffs start in 10 days. So its not as if Woodson is about to throw paint on the Mona Lisa.
Maybe it cant work because its just too congested down low. Maybe having Anthony and Stoudemire on the team at the same time is just a hair-brained idea that Jim Dolan conceived or bought from one of his advisrs.
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