Amar'e Stoudemire Injury: Knicks Were Done Way Before Amar'e Made It Official

Amare Stoudemire's fire extinguisher-punching antics after the New York Knicks' Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat were inexcusable, immature and really, really dumb—the list goes on.

However, truth be told, the Knicks weren't going anywhere past the first round of the postseason, with or without him.

The seventh-seeded Knicks didn't stand a chance against Miami, which is looking more and more likely to be the Eastern Conference's representative in the NBA Finals, especially now that Derrick Rose is down and out.

New York, alternately, fought with Philadelphia for the honor of being the eighth seed. The Knicks ultimately lost, mostly due to the fact that it had Charlotte on the docket for the season finale.

However, even with a healthy Stoudemire, the Knicks would probably go down in four games against Miami—maybe five.

The Knicks forward gruesomely punched a glass case containing a fire extinguisher just after the Knicks' 104-94 loss to the Heat on Monday, lacerating the inside of his palm.

A source told ESPN's Chris Broussard that half of Stoudemire's hand was "hanging off" and "blood was squirting out."

The team has ruled him out for Game 3, and he is listed as doubtful for Game 4. By all indications, he's out for the series. It's hard to play basketball with half a hand.

The truth is, the Knicks aren't going anywhere. Iman Shumpert's torn ACL and meniscus in Game 1 sealed the deal, or perhaps Jeremy Lin's injury much earlier in the season did them in. The Knicks don't have enough talent to stop the Heat, one of the top-scoring teams in the NBA.

New York hasn't found a way to stop Miami in the first two games of this series. Maybe it's due to the fact that he and Carmelo Anthony can't find a way to win together, but probably not. They're just not good enough to fend off LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. 

Stoudemire is still dumb for doing what he did—following in the footsteps of Plaxico Burress, Kevin Brown and other illustrious New Yorkers who came before him.  

None of this excuses what he did, but maybe it will bring about the inevitable end a little bit faster.