Barring unforseen pain in his surgically repaired left knee, Amare Stoudemire will return to the Suns lineup in tonight’s game against Portland, 163 days after his microfracture surgery and 294 days since his last game action.
“I tell you what, man, it’s been a long process,” Stoudemire said. “It’s been a long time coming. I just can’t wait to set foot back on that Phoenix logo.”
Stoudemire initially joked with reporters about keeping his return in the dark. He said he might take the court in street clothes only to “rip out the Superman cape.”
But the plan is for Stoudemire to see 15-20 minutes and possibly start tonight’s game because it may be easier to run soon after getting warmed up.
“You throw a new element in the water and there’ll be ripples,” D’Antoni said. “There’s going to be issues. In the short term, we’re not going to be as good. I hope I can be fooled. As soon as Amaré gets his feet wet, he can help us a lot.”
If Stoudemire can round back into form over the next few weeks and play at 80% or 90% capacity, he will definitely help the Suns in the playoffs. For D’Antoni, the trick will be working him into a lineup that has gone 45-21 this season. The one silver lining to Stoudemire’s injury has been the play of Boris Diaw, who will likely slide to the power forward position, allowing Stoudemire to man the middle while he’s in the game.
