Amar'e Stoudemire scrimmaged today, still shooting for Game 3

Amid what was hopefully a very instructive and productive Knicks practice this afternoon, we got a bit of a surprise. Amar'e Stoudemire, who wasn't expected to scrimmage until the long layoff between Games 2 and 3 against the Pacers, did so today. He played three-on-three with a fine group of gentlemen: Quentin Richardson, James White, Chris Copeland, Marcus Camby, and Earl Barron. Of that group, it sounds like The Aristocrat was Amar'e's primary match-up. Tony Williams gave us the play-by-play:

Copeland just hit Amar'e w/ crossover & blow-by to rim, & Amar'e responds w/ nice blow-by of Barron.#Knicks #NYK #Pacers

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) May 6, 2013

Barron just hit Amar'e w/patented @shaq elbow & layup which dropped his mate. STAT flopped, looking for call. #NYK

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) May 6, 2013

Session over. Q, Cope, & Barron beat STAT, Camby, & White, 27-25. Overall STAT had the moves but lacked wind. #NYK #Pacers

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) May 6, 2013

Amar'e gave Barron dap & said, "Good game, Earl. I needed that." #NYK #Pacets

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) May 6, 2013

Afterward, Amar'e and those watching him gave updates on his condition and availability...

'I feel good, I feel winded though.' Amar'e to Woodson

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 6, 2013

Amar'e said "tomorrow is a recovery day" to see how his knee responds. #Knicks #NYK #Pacers

— Tony Williams (@TBone8) May 6, 2013

Amare thinks his his role will be the same as it was before he got hurt but added: 'Im here for whatever the coaching staff needs me to do.'

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 6, 2013

Amare scrimmaging two days ahead of schedule. But Woodson said he won't suit up for Game 2. twitter.com/StevePopper/st…

— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) May 6, 2013

...and also gave some exceedingly Amar'e quotes:

STAT after scrimmaging: "Had a tough day, but I feel good...I was born with it. It's like riding a bike." #Knicks twitter.com/charliewiddoes…

— charlie widdoes (@charliewiddoes) May 6, 2013

Best quote from Amare, on possible return after 2-month layoff: "There’s no fear. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real." #acronymsarecool

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) May 6, 2013

All My Acronyms Represent 'Excellence, you know. We'll hear more about how his knee responds tomorrow, but either way, a weekend return seems likely. These hooligans might not be into it, but I'm...hmm...cautiously excited. I guess my enthusiasm about the return will depend somewhat on how Game 2 goes.

Some other things from practice:

- Here's Jared Zwerling's full write-up of the Amar'e stuff, which includes some more quotes.

- Steve Novak's more than likely not gonna be back for Game 2.

- Mike Woodson wants Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to take less difficult shots. SISSY. (Melo may or may not agree.)

- Melo passed on an opportunity to shit on yesterday's refs, but did make a comment about "earn[ing] respect" from the officials. Jared Dubin, incidentally, dissected the fouls Melo did and did not get in Game 1.

- Woodson doesn't intend to switch to a big lineup, though he did lean more heavily on those in Game 1 than ever before (or at least it seemed that way).

- Baron Davis was in the house today.

And that's pretty much the gist of today's practice. They'll shoot around tomorrow, then see if they can make that practice work for them in Game 2. After that, there's a whooooole lot more time to work.