Once upon a time, Amar'e Stoudemire was the king of New York, the Knicks inspired hope and Madison Square Garden was a palace of basketball splendor.
And it might be again, if Stoudemire recovers from an abysmal 2011-12 campaign and gives tortured hoops-heads in the Big Apple reason to smile again in the process.
Let's first go back to the winter of 2011, when STAT still had that new-car smell and the ink was still fresh on his five-year, $100 million deal. A win over the Atlanta Hawks on February 16th left the Knicks at 28-26 overall, already on their way to their first winning record since the 2000-01 season.
Through his first 53 games in a Knicks uniform (not including one missed on January 12th), STAT averaged 26.1 points (on 50.7 percent shooting), 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists while carrying the interior load for an exciting squad under the auspices of fast-break guru Mike D'Antoni.
Those were simpler, more innocent times at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks had a young, up-and-coming roster, featuring the likes of Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov.
But then Knicks owner James ...
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Article written by Josh Martin
Why New York Knicks Fans Will Learn to Love Amar’e Stoudemire Again
July 24th, 2012 by Josh Martin Leave a reply »
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