Amar'e Stoudemire: Star's Outburst a Sign Frustrated Knicks Are Doomed
The New York Knicks find themselves in an 0-2 hole against the Miami Heat after losing Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on Tuesday.
Things went from bad to worse after the game, when star forward Amar'e Stoudemire lost his cool and reportedly let one of his fists fly.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News told the story in a series of tweets, starting with this one:
"Lot of commotion in the Knicks locker room. Sounds like an angry, frustrated bunch.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
And then came the paramedics:
"Paramedics just let the Knicks locker room. I told you there was commotion. Something is up. Hearing one of the players lost it
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
And then came a rumor of a punch:
"That seems to be the word. Amare, according to a source, may have hurt his hand punching a wall
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
And then came confirmation of a punch:
"It is confirmed. Amar'e suffered a lacerated hand punching something after the game
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
And then came confirmation of "complete chaos:"
"Knicks confirm that Amar'e suffered a left hand laceration. Team will not reveal details or open locker room. Complete chaos
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
And then came the crime scene:
"There is blood all over the carpet in the locker room
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 1, 2012"
A 360-degree tracking shot. Dramatic music. Cue cheesy action-movie line: "[Bleep] just got real."
It suffices to say this is not a good turn of events for the Knicks. On the contrary, it's a pretty terrible turn of events. It's unclear what triggered Stoudemire's outburst, but it could be any number of things, and none of them are good.
Maybe he got in somebody's face. Maybe somebody got in his face. Maybe the inanimate object he punched got in his face. Or maybe he was just overcome with frustration.
That last possibility strikes me as the most likely, as Stoudemire and the Knicks have every right to be frustrated after dropping the first two games of this series. Worse, the Heat made it pretty clear in the first two games that they are the better of the two teams, and that it's not close.
What will become of Stoudemire now is unclear, as it's unclear how badly he hurt his hand. The injury may keep him out of action for the rest of this series. If it doesn't, it will certainly limit him. And even if he just suffered a scratch, one wonders if Mike Woodson could punish Stoudemire by banishing him to the bench.
Nobody knows. These are all just possibilities.
What we can deduce from this incident is this: The Knicks' locker room is not a place anybody should want to be right now. The vibes are bad, and Stoudemire definitely didn't help matters by punching whatever it is he punched. In fact, he probably made the mood much, much worse.
Take Isola's word for it. What the Knicks are dealing with right now is chaos.
Fortunately for them, they only have to put up with it for two more games. It will be a shock if this series lasts any longer than that.
