Larry Brown Sports

Amar’e Stoudemire is more than embracing his Jewish roots. The New York Knicks forward was spotted wearing a yarmulke after Knicks shootaround on Saturday. ESPN New York’s Ian Begley reports that Stoudemire even told reporters “Shabbat Shalom” after meeting with them.

Not long after signing with the Knicks in 2010, Stoudemire made it known publicly that he had Jewish roots from his mother’s side of the family. He began connecting with his heritage over the next few years. He went on a trip to Israel, learned some Hebrew, experimented with a Kosher diet, and made plans to open a Hebrew school. Now he’s even wearing a yarmulke. But not just any yarmulke — the large, black velvet yarmulke is generally one worn by ultra-orthodox Jews.

In addition to the post-practice yarmulke, Stoudemire has also been spotted in the streets of New York wearing his yarmulke. Maybe this is what Amar’e was referring to when he said the Knicks had too much swag.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t show up to Al Abbas Chicken wearing the yarmulke, lest he wants this to happen:

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The New York Knicks have looked like one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference for much of the season, but they have struggled as of late. New York’s loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night was its fourth straight, which is the team’s longest streak of the season. The All-Star break doesn’t appear to have helped Mike Woodson’s club sort out their issues, but Amar’e Stoudemire believes he knows what the problem may be.

“We got plenty of swagger, we may have too much swag,’’ Stoudemire said after the loss, via the NY Post. “We got to get more greedy, from the standpoint of wanting to defend, wanting to win and having a sense of urgency. We have to want to win. We got to have the mentality to want to win. It don’t matter if it looks good or not. We just got to get it done. It’s not a great feeling right now.’’

The phrase “we need to get our swagger back” is probably one of the most overused in sports. The Knicks have oftentimes looked overconfident during their losing streak, which is likely what Stoudemire is referring to. The team’s shot selection has been poor, with Carmelo Anthony hitting less than 40% of his shots over the last four games. Worse yet, he is 3-for-20 from beyond the arc in the last three games.

All teams go through bad stretches. The best ones are able to respond. Eventually, the shots will start falling again for the Knicks. In the meantime, they need to bear down defensively and continue to show the type of improvement that was on display over the first half of the season.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

To many Americans, former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner will be remembered as a killer and a monster. Last week, Dorner wreaked havoc in the LA area for 10 days during a killing spree in which he took the lives of two police officers and the daughter of a former police captain and her fiance. On Tuesday, Dorner shot and killed himself after officers cornered him at his hideout cabin.

Enter New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, who was apparently touched by Dorner’s 20-page manifesto that he left on his Facebook page. In the rant, which the former officer addressed to America, Dorner explained how he felt he was a victim of institutionalized racism and urged the black community to stop “digressing.”

“Interesting,” Stoudemire wrote on his Twitter account before linking to the piece. “This is a must read!!”

A number of followers instantly began bashing Stoudemire for promoting the work of a murderer. Dorner said in his manifesto that he was fired for reporting a sergeant for brutality. The LAPD determined that there was nothing to the accusations, but the case reopened as the department was hunting for Dorner.

In Stoudemire’s defense, Dorner’s rant is certainly intriguing and covers a lot of ground. Most of the time we are left wondering what goes through a killer’s head that makes him or her feel that killing people will accomplish something, and Dorner’s manifesto helps answer many of the questions surrounding his bizarre case. Amar’e could have possibly benefited from phrasing his interest in the piece a bit differently but, as this fire extinguisher will tell you, he’s not much of a think before you act type of guy.

One of the main reasons the New York Knicks have been successful this season is their vast improvement on defense. They have allowed 97.5 points per game, which ranks near the middle of the pack in the NBA. Much of their improvement has come with Amar’e Stoudemire out nursing a knee injury. The Knicks have cooled off a bit as of late, but many wonder if Stoudemire’s return will help or hinder their growth.

Stoudemire has always been considered an above-average player offensively, but defense has never been been his strong suit. Accoring to Amar’e, that’s because no one before Mike Woodson ever worked with him on it. Considering Stoudemire played almost his entire career under Mike D’Antoni with the Phoenix Suns and in New York, I guess it would be fair to view that as a shot at his former coach.

“I think having a defensive coach for the first time in my career is going to help,” Stoudemire said Wednesday according to the NY Daily News. “I’ve never been taught defense in my whole career. So to now have a coach who actually teaches defense and teaches strategies and knows positioning and posture and how to guard different plays, it’s going to be helpful.”

The Knicks’ defense began improving when they acquired Tyson Chandler, so it’s more likely that the improvement happened in spite of Stoudemire — not because of him. About a month ago, Stoudemire said he would be willing to accept a bench role when he finished recovering from knee surgery. He returned on New Year’s Day and scored six points off the bench. It appears he will stay there for at least the immediate future.

“I’m taking it as a challenge,” Stoudemire said. “I’m going to accept the challenge. And I’m going to try to improve as a player.”

The Knicks are currently 21-10 and in first place in the Atlantic Division, but they have scored more than 100 points only twice in their last eight games. Stoudemire’s return may not help the team defensively, but they aren’t exactly lighting it up on offense. While many fans would have been happy trading him when New York began the season looking like the NBA’s best team, they might welcome the boost he provides on offense down the stretch.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Amar’e Stoudemire has not played in a game yet this season for the New York Knicks, but the team has been more than fine without him. A 10-4 start with Amar’e nursing a knee injury has many wondering what Mike Woodson will do with his power forward when he returns. Should the Knicks trade him? Should they insert him back into the starting lineup?

According to a report from ESPNNewYork.com, Stoudemire is open to the idea of coming off the bench when he makes his expected return in December.

“All he cares about right now is helping the team and winning,” a source close to Stoudemire said. “He’d be fine with coming off the bench if that’s what they want.”

For whatever reason, Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have not seemed to mesh well since New York paired them together. The Knicks played some of their best ball of the season last year with Anthony injured and have played very well through 14 games this season without Amar’e. Another source reportedly told ESPNNewYork.com that Stoudemire is well aware of how the team has been playing in his absence and does not want to negatively affect the chemistry they have created when he returns.

Coming off the bench may be exactly what Amar’e needs to do, as trading him would not be an easy task. He has been prone to injuries over the past couple seasons (even incredibly bizarre ones like this) and isn’t exactly playing under a team-friendly contract. Any trade would have to involve a player with a contract almost equal to that of Stoudemire’s, and that is unlikely to happen.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

As the east coast continues to recover from the beating it took at the hands of Hurricane Sandy, photos like this one that Amar’e Stoudemire shared give us an idea of how devastating the damage has been for some people. The New Jersey shore line was completely wiped out in some places and many families have lost their cars, possessions and in some cases their entire homes. Millions remain without power across the eastern seaboard.

Stoudemire said his Range Rover was submerged by the flood waters of Hurricane Sandy as it inflicted millions of dollars in damage all along the east coast. As a side note, he also needs knee surgery and will miss 6-8 weeks, so losing his car adds to what has been a rough week for him and the city of New York. The Knicks season opener against the Nets was also cancelled as a result of the storm.

Fortunately, Stoudemire has plenty of money and can easily replace his car (and insurance will likely cover the loss). Unfortunately, there are families out there who are not in the same financial situation as an NBA superstar and are sure to endure serious hardships as a result of the storm. Our thoughts are with all those who were affected. We hope to see everyone bounce back sooner rather than later.

H/T Deadspin

The visions that Knicks fans had of the Larry O’Brien trophy over a year ago when the team signed Amar’e Stoudemire and then acquired Carmelo Anthony have all but disappeared. After more than a season of sub-.500 ball together, it’s starting to look like the Knicks need more than just ‘Melo and Amar’e to contend for a title. In fact, many wonder if they will have to get rid of one of their stars in order to do so.

Stephon Marbury believes they will. Simply put, Marbury doesn’t think Stoudemire and Anthony are a good fit together.

“Amare needs a point guard like Steve Nash (to thrive),” Marbury told ESPN New York on Wednesday. “He’s a pick-and-roll guy, a pick-and-pop guy. He can’t play in the half court where everything’s slowed down.”

Marbury has a point, and that became evident when Stoudemire thrived with ‘Melo on the bench and Jeremy Lin running the point. When asked if he believes Carmelo and Amar’e can win together, Stephon simply said “nope” before questioning the Knicks’ motivation behind trading for ‘Melo.

“I don’t know if (Knicks owner James) Dolan brought him in to win games or to make money,” he said. “I think it was to make money.”

Marbury has been known for saying some pretty crazy stuff and we know he hates the Knicks, but his assessment is actually spot-on here. Stoudemire relies on steady point guard play in order to thrive, and he doesn’t get that with a guy like Anthony who needs the ball in his hands most of the time. Will it ever work? Only time will tell, but at this point there’s no reason to believe it will.