New York Knicks Should Shut Down Amare Stoudemire for Rest of Regular Season

A lot of things have been going well for the New York Knicks as of late. With a huge come-from-behind win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the Knicks improved to an impressive 12-4 under interim head coach Mike Woodson and in the process opened up a two-game lead over Milwaukee for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

They also got a shot of good news regarding injured forward Amar'e Stoudemire  The New York Post reports that the 10-year veteran could return to the lineup as early as April 18 against the New Jersey Nets. 

While it would be nice to have Stoudemire back in the Knicks' starting lineup, the smart thing to do would be to shut him down.

It's vital that the Knicks have Stoudemire healthy for a playoff run, and taking any risk that he re-injures his back or his troublesome knees is something they just can't roll the dice on.

Sure, it's important that Stoudemire gets some work in, but there's no need to rush him, especially with Carmelo Anthony averaging close to 37 points per game during his last three games. As important as it is to get Stoudemire some work, it's equally as important to keep Anthony on a hot streak.

When Stoudemire does come back, it means moving Anthony back to small forward and away from the post, where he's done the majority of the damage during his recent nine-game tear.

Anthony has not only averaged 30.0 PPG but has done it by shooting 48 percent from the floor.

Right now, the Knicks have enough weapons to get by and ensure a playoff spot. There's no need at all to rush Stoudemire back.

Before he injured his back, Stoudemire had a jump to his game and his explosiveness returned. That's exactly what the Knicks need from him when he returns—nothing less.

Taking another week or so to make sure he's as close to 100 percent as possible isn't a bad thing.

The hard part, though, is in the hands of Woodson.

It will be up to Woodson to bring him back without disrupting Anthony's progress, but that's not going to be easy. Anthony has looked comfortable at power forward, and there won't be much practice time for the remainder of the season to make any further adjustments with his positioning.

If it's important to bring Stoudemire back and get a couple games under his belt, why not push him back until the last week of the season or even the last game of the season against the Charlotte Bobcats?

I'm all for Stoudemire coming back, and the Knicks will need him badly for the playoffs. I'm just not in favor of him rushing back if it will impact his health for the postseason in any fashion at all.