Amar’e Stoudemire Healthy Enough to Play in Season Opener

According to New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, he’s available to play against the Milwaukee Bucks. The rest, now, is up to head coach Mike Woodson. Per the NY Post: “Mike Woodson will not announce the Knicks’ starting five until Wednesday’s season-opening game against the Bucks, but Amar’e Stoudemire will be available to come off the bench. Stoudemire, who underwent his third knee surgery in less than a year this summer, made his preseason debut on Friday and said he had no setbacks. ‘I feel good so far,’ Stoudemire said after Monday’s practice. ‘No setbacks, progress is going well, so that’s a good sign for me.’ Stoudemire, 30, looked sharp in his debut, scoring six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field in 12 minutes of action against Charlotte. Stoudemire said he supports Woodson’s plan to platoon his reserve power forwards — Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin — by resting them in alternating games. The limited playing time may help him stay upright after playing in just 76 games over the past two seasons. ‘Yeah, it’s fine with me. I think we’re on the same feel as far as trying to recover from injuries, so whatever it takes for us to prolong our career and be ready for the postseason, I think that’s the approach,’ Stoudemire said. ‘We’re just taking a strategic approach about this season and make sure we’re ready for longevity. This is like training camp for me at this point. Just continue to get in shape, continue to get my strength and my rhythm back. The last preseason game was a great indication of how I feel and where I’m at as far as my skill-set, which I felt was pretty good. Just going to continue to build on that.'”