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MavKikiNYC · 03-26-2006, 10:47 AM

In knee deep
Amare's comeback doesn't have Sunny precedent

Amare Stoudemire
Amare Stoudemire's return to the Phoenix Suns is being closely watched, and not just from a basketball standpoint. Several others players who have undergone the same "mircofracture" knee surgery haven't come close to regaining their previous form. The list includes Jason Kidd, Allan Houston, Kerry Kittles, Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway. Of the five, only Kidd and Webber are still playing, with varying degrees of success. Kidd clearly isn't what he used to be on a nightly basis, but he's still a top player. In most games, though, Webber can hardly get off the floor.
"You have to be really careful with this type of surgery," said Hardaway, one of the first players to have the procedure, in May, 2000. "You really have to give the procedure a chance to work and for the knee to heal. If you don't, you're asking for trouble."
Stoudemire gave it five months to heal and the initial results were impressive. In his season debut Thursday against Portland, he collected 20 points and nine boards in only 19 minutes. But the Suns still have four sets of back-to-back games, including tomorrow at the Meadowlands against the Nets and Tuesday in Milwaukee, and nobody really knows how the young star will respond over the long run.
The Suns' doctors maintain that Stoudemire has a good chance to continue to be a dominant player. They point to several factors: He's still young (23), the lesion removed was less than one centimeter in diamater, the location was non-threatening to the knee and the knee is in a non-arthritic state.
But Denver's Kenyon Martin has been struggling all season after having microfracture surgery. Perhaps that's why Martin's coach, George Karl, sounded a strong note of caution when considering Stoudemire's impact down the stretch.
"I don't think he's ever going to be the dominant player he was in the playoffs last year," Karl said. "That would be a high compliment to him. My gut says he's going to have similar problems with knee soreness, swelling. But maybe not. A part of growing and healing is genetic."

03-26-2006, 10:47 AM	#96
MavKikiNYC Diamond Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 8,509	In knee deep Amare's comeback doesn't have Sunny precedent Amare Stoudemire Amare Stoudemire's return to the Phoenix Suns is being closely watched, and not just from a basketball standpoint. Several others players who have undergone the same "mircofracture" knee surgery haven't come close to regaining their previous form. The list includes Jason Kidd, Allan Houston, Kerry Kittles, Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway. Of the five, only Kidd and Webber are still playing, with varying degrees of success. Kidd clearly isn't what he used to be on a nightly basis, but he's still a top player. In most games, though, Webber can hardly get off the floor. "You have to be really careful with this type of surgery," said Hardaway, one of the first players to have the procedure, in May, 2000. "You really have to give the procedure a chance to work and for the knee to heal. If you don't, you're asking for trouble." Stoudemire gave it five months to heal and the initial results were impressive. In his season debut Thursday against Portland, he collected 20 points and nine boards in only 19 minutes. But the Suns still have four sets of back-to-back games, including tomorrow at the Meadowlands against the Nets and Tuesday in Milwaukee, and nobody really knows how the young star will respond over the long run. The Suns' doctors maintain that Stoudemire has a good chance to continue to be a dominant player. They point to several factors: He's still young (23), the lesion removed was less than one centimeter in diamater, the location was non-threatening to the knee and the knee is in a non-arthritic state. But Denver's Kenyon Martin has been struggling all season after having microfracture surgery. Perhaps that's why Martin's coach, George Karl, sounded a strong note of caution when considering Stoudemire's impact down the stretch. "I don't think he's ever going to be the dominant player he was in the playoffs last year," Karl said. "That would be a high compliment to him. My gut says he's going to have similar problems with knee soreness, swelling. But maybe not. A part of growing and healing is genetic."