Amar'e and the "Bittersweet" Return

This past off-season, most of us probably thought that Amar’e Stoudemire leaving the Phoenix Suns and signing that mega five-year, $100 million deal with the underachieving New York Knicks would inevitably be perceived as an “epic fail” moment.

The Knicks are actually winning games and looking like an NBA team, for once. They are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and have a 21-14 record. Stoudemire, an early MVP candidate, is second in the league in scoring at 26.3 ppg.

Last night, Stoudemire continued his dominance with 23 points and nine rebounds in the Knicks 121-96 stomp out of his former running mates Steve Nash and the Suns.

Could this be a sign of things to come for the Knicks? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves?

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The Archives: Raising Arizona- Amar'e Stoudemire

No, there is no rivalry between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. That doesn’t mean there can’t be. But, right now, at this very moment, it’s stupid. Media hype. So upon downplaying tonight’s ESPN (7 p.m.) matchup between the Knicks and Celtics, I will now bring it back up to speed. New York is playing as well as they have since the days of Ewing and Starks and the main culprit for that is Amar’e Stoudemire, whom you may not have heard (kiddin’) is playing like the MVP of the entire League.

In the second installment of The Archives, Sports Illustrated’s Kelli Anderson takes us on a trip back to when Stoudemire was just a rookie…before the fame…before the injuries…before everything…

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Of all the reactions you’d expect from a 20-year-old NBA rookie whose coach just told him, “You got Shaq,” a canary-swallowing grin is not one of them. But unmistakable joy, even mirth, played over the face of Phoenix Suns power forward Amare Stoudemire as he planted a forearm in Shaquille O’Neal‘s back late in a recent victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Earlier in the season the 6’10”, 245-pound Stoudemire had delivered a vicious dunk over the L.A. Clippers’ 7-foot Michael Olowokandi, dominated All-Star Kevin Garnett in a 38-point, 14-rebound performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves and leveled Paul Pierce as he drove to the hoop, leaving the Boston Celtics’ swingman with two broken front teeth. But Stoudemire didn’t know if he’d be so fearless when he finally confronted his hoops idol. “If I was going to be intimidated by anyone in this league, it would have been Shaq,” says Stoudemire. “But I wasn’t. I enjoyed every minute.”

Read the full story here…

20 Second Timeout

11/30

…the Top 10 Plays from last night…

:20…Josh McRoberts, R U Serious?

11/30

…the Top 10 Plays from last night…