Carmelo Anthony makes his return to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse tomorrow night when they take on the Sixers in their fifth preseason game. The Knicks currently stand at 2-2, but announced today that Amare Stoudemire will miss two to three weeks with a ruptured cyst behind his left knee. While the time period isn't devastating, it is another medical issue for the oft-injured Stoudemire. Here are some other notes from the Knicks preseason:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York posts his reaction to the Stoudemire news, reiterating that it is not a serious injury and the time off may help a knee that was still recovering from a bone bruise on October 10. Zwerling also says to expect Kurt Thomas to start and Chris Copeland to make the team.
- Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal.com mentions Copeland and Steve Novak as two candidates to step up in Stoudemire's absence. On Saturday night, Copeland exploded for 34 points in Boston on 11-for-18 shooting and has impressed throughout the preseason.
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld takes a look at the Knicks point guard situation, where the team has replaced Jeremy Lin with a trio of veteran guards that have 42 combined years of pro hoops experience in Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
- Speaking of Prigioni, Nate Taylor from the New York Times writes that Suns big man and fellow Argentinian Luis Scola gave him the final push that he needed to come over from the Euroleague and join the Knicks. Prigioni, at 35, is the oldest rookie to enter the NBA in the last 40 years.