Woodson: Stoudemire Out 'Awhile'
By Ohm Youngmisuk | ESPNNewYork.com
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Just as Tyson Chandler is nearing a return to action, the New York Knicks have lost another big man with Amar'e Stoudemire sidelined 'a while' due to swelling in his surgically-repaired knee, coach Mike Woodson said Tuesday.
The Knicks (7-17) need Chandler back with Stoudemire suffering a setback and Kenyon Martin (strained abdominal muscle) out indefinitely. Woodson's team is decimated by injuries with point guards Raymond Felton (strained hamstring) and Pablo Prigioni (fractured toe) also out for a couple of weeks.
Amar'e Stoudemire is no stranger to adversity, but he's also one of theall-time Knicks. Where does he rank? ESPN NY's Top 25 Knicks 
Chandler went through three-on-three contact on Monday during practice and the Knicks will make a decision on his availability before Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
'Amar'e's going to be out a while,' Woodson said after practice. 'I don't know, but he won't play tomorrow. Kenyon's out as well. Hopefully Tyson feels good after tonight, will be able to get back in a uniform. For us to get out of this hole it's going to take a total team effort and hopefully we'll eventually get everybody back.'
When asked why Stoudemire will be sidelined, Woodson replied, 'knee has swelled up a little bit.'
Stoudemire, who had three surgical procedures on his knees in the span of 12 months with the last coming this past offseason, played 19 minutes and missed six of seven shots to finish with four points and four rebounds in a 102-101 loss to Washington on Monday night.
Prior to that game, Stoudemire, 31, had been playing well of late. He played in five games last week, averaging 14.6 points in 25.4 minutes.
But he logged his most minutes of the season in three consecutive games last week while playing in two back-to-back sets over five nights. He played 27 minutes against Cleveland last Tuesday and followed that with 30 minutes against the Bulls the next night. Two days later, Stoudemire played 30 minutes again against the Celtics before logging 19 minutes against Atlanta the next night on Saturday.
Woodson had said that Stoudemire was no longer under a minutes restriction that was placed on the forward at the start of the season. But Stoudemire now could be out indefinitely.
Chandler has been out since suffering a small displaced fracture of his right fibula on Nov. 5 against Charlotte. The timetable for his recovery was four-to-six weeks and Tuesday marked the sixth week. Chandler has missed the past 20 games.
'Feeling good out there,' Chandler said of how he felt after practice. 'Now I'll sleep on it and talk to coach tomorrow, go from there. We'll see how I feel in the morning. I was pretty confident out there moving around with the guys and banging, really not having any setbacks.'
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