Here is where we are supposed to tell you "what it means" — how his absence affects the Knicks' chances against the Heat or how Miami will capitalize on New York losing its All-Star power forward.
But we are not going to do that, because based on the evidence from the first two games of this series, Stoudemire's status does not matter. Even with Stoudemire, the Knicks showed in two games that they have no chance of upsetting the second-seeded Heat, and if the Knicks win more than two games in the series, they would shock most of the universe, including that alien who stole Patrick Ewing's skills in Space Jam.
This is not about the Knicks scoring seven fewer points per 100 possessions with Stoudemire on the court or allowing four more points with him on it during the regular season. It is not about his career-low scoring and rebounding averages. It is about the Heat simply being too good, and that might have been what set off Stoudemire on Monday. The Knicks played worlds better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, and the result was that they lost by 10 points rather than 33.
Until LeBron James hits a Jordan-esque fadeaway 20-footer at the buzzer to win a playoff game, few people will acknowledge that the Heat have looked unbeatable. Miami has utterly dominated a Knicks team that boasts one of the five best scorers in the game, one of the three most impactful defensive players in the sport and, until now, a secondary scoring option who last season scored more points per game than league MVP Derrick Rose. Chemistry issues and inconsistency aside, the Knicks should be able to put up at least some resistance against the Heat.
Iman Shumpert was out. Now Stoudemire is out. Jeremy Lin could return this weekend. Whoever plays or does not play for New York, it appears they will just be a changing face witnessing the Heat's surge. What does Stoudemire's injury mean to the Heat? What does a wayward raccoon on the highway mean to a Mack truck?
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