New York Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire Returns to Lineup Tonight, Just in Time

Amar'e Stoudemire is set to return to the New York Knicks' lineup tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Victor Chi of ThePostGame. Stat's return couldn't have come at a better time.

The Knicks only have four games left in the season, and are beginning to not only prepare themselves for the playoffs, but also are trying to move up one more seed that could make all the difference in their playoff run.

Stoudemire has been out since March 24th when he injured his back and at one point, it wasn't known if he would even return this season. Combined with the Jeremy Lin injury at nearly the exact same time, it looked like a doomsday scenario for New York.

But Stat's return erases that worry, and now the Knicks have what they needed so badly since Stat's absence: a second scorer to compliment Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony has been scoring at will lately, but even a talented player like Melo can't keep up his current pace and will need some help. Not to mention, in the playoffs, the Knicks will be facing superior defensive teams, and one man simply can't get it done by himself.

On top of that, Stoudemire's size has been sorely missed and, as a result, the Knicks have been getting out-rebounded even worse than they were before his injury.

Stat's return with four games left is important in the sense that it not only allows him to shake off some rust from not playing in nearly a month, but he can also re-incorporate himself into the Knicks' lineup, allowing coach Mike Woodson some time to figure out how he wants to use Stoudemire.

The offense has been running through Melo lately, and successfully at that, but Stat's talent can't be pushed aside, and the two will have to work together if they want to bring an NBA Finals trophy back to New York.

With Stoudemire, the Knicks have a much better shot at making some noise in the playoffs, and anyone who believes otherwise simply isn't dealing in reality.