Amar'e Stoudemire remains in Florida with his family, grieving the tragic death of his older brother, Hazell. It was uncertain initially how long he'd need, but the word now (first reported by TMZ) is that Amar'e will return to the team on Monday. In the meantime, one can only hope that the Stoudemires' grieving process is one of peace and healing. It breaks my heart to imagine Amar'e in that kind of pain.
For the Knicks, Amar'e's excused absence means three more games without their starting power forward. New York will face the Wizards, Lakers, and Timberwolves without Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony, which means...
...hey, Jeremy. Hey. How you doin', big guy? Kinda sleepy? That's understandable. Mmhmm. Hey, remember that time you played an absurd number of minutes and almost single-handedly ran the Knicks' offense to win them the game on Monday? Remember that? Remember how we all said it was an excellent performance but we'd be foolish to expect that kind of game from you every night? Well, see, here's the thing...
(Seriously, though, Lin is going to be THE target of opposing defenses for the next three games. I've been trying to curb my expectations of the kid, but if he continues to excel in his increasingly crucial role, I might lose it. Also, if he struggles, let us not neglect the circumstances, eh?)