Amar’e Stoudemire could miss 1st month of NBA season with left knee issues, seeks 2nd opinion

With just a few days before the official kick off of the NBA season it looks like the Knicks might be without its starting power forward Amar’e Stoudemire for longer than anticipated. Stoudemire is seeking a second opinion with his former surgeon from his days as a member of the Phoenix Suns.

Stoudemire is consulting with Phoenix Suns orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Carter, according to a Suns source. Dr. Carter performed microfracture surgery on Stoudemire’s left knee in 2005. It is customary, and in some cases encouraged by teams, that players get a second opinion from an independent physician.

The Knicks team doctors discovered that Stoudemire suffered a ruptured cyst on his left knee during last week’s exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors. The timetable given by the Knicks for Stoudemire’s return is two to four weeks but the same source says a more plausible timetable is four to five weeks.

Under that scenario, the Knicks will be without their second leading scorer for most of November when they’ll play 15 games in the month, including nine on the road.

Carmelo has indicated that playing the 4 is an option for him. The Knicks might have to get comfortable with some sort of small ball but do they have enough speed, especially among their antiquated bench, to keep up with the Heat, Pacers, Celtics and dare I say Nets without Amar’e for an extended period of time?