Amar’e Stoudemire Tempering Expectations in New York

The Knicks’ newest — and really, only — star knows the fans are excited, but he doesn’t want them to have unrealistic goals for this team. The NY Post has the quotes: “With the preseason ending in Montreal after Friday night’s 108-103 loss to the Raptors, Stoudemire, in recent days, has noticeably lacked braggadocio and lowered expectations. In the Canadiens’ visiting dressing room Friday night, Stoudemire tried out a little French, then spoke some English words downright alarming to Knick fans praying for a return to the playoffs. ‘The Knicks haven’t made the playoffs in nine, 10 years,’ said Stoudemire, his history a bit off. ‘Anything better than we did last year is a success.’ The Knicks are coming off a 29-53 nightmare, nine straight losing seasons and an NBA-high six years out of the playoffs. Three days ago at Montreal’s McGill University, he said: ‘Last year wasn’t that good. Anything better than that would be a step in the right direction. But playoffs is something we’re looking forward to and we’re trying to get to that point. We’re not the biggest physical team. Some nights we will be outrebounded, but we have to stay together.’ Though Stoudemire looked brilliant in preseason, averaging a league-high 25.7 points in 27 minutes, he perhaps realizes the supporting cast isn’t as promising as on paper.”