Mike Woodson Confident Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire Can Co-Exist

With the New York Knicks off to a spectacular 8-1 start this season, some fans and media are worried about what will happen to team chemistry and play once Amar’e Stoudemire returns from injury. Never fear, Mike Woodson says. From Newsday: “Mike Woodson was asked the $100-million question about whether he’s committed to starting Amar’e Stoudemire when he returns from knee surgery. Woodson was non-committal about that. But Woodson said he’s still committed to making it work with Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire, and is confident he can. The Knicks’ regular-season record when Anthony and Stoudemire play together is 30-33 — 8-2 under Woodson. That gives him the belief he can make Anthony and Stoudemire click better than they did under old Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. ‘Is it an overall losing record with me as the coach?’ Woodson asked. ‘I can’t think about what happened before I took over. As a coach, I feel good about both of them playing together on the floor at the same time. That’s not going to change.’ That might be an indication that Stoudemire will start after he comes back from an Oct. 31 left-knee debridement, a procedure to remove unhealthy tissue. He was expected to miss 6-8 weeks, so a late December return is possible for Stoudemire, who didn’t make this trip. After Tuesday night’s win, the Knicks are 21-7 overall without Stoudemire. Toward the end of last season and from the start of this one, they have been playing so well with Anthony at power forward that there has been a clamoring to bring Stoudemire, whom the Knicks signed to a five-year, $100-million contract in 2010, off the bench. ‘I’m going to address that when I get to that point,’ Woodson said. ‘Right now, I’m just taking it a day at a time and working the guys we have in uniform as we speak.'”