Stoudemire slowly getting healthy, but will chemistry issues with Carmelo re-emerge when he’s back?

Amare Stoudemire continues to make progress in his effort to return from a bulging disc in his back (he participated in the Knicks’ shootaround on Tuesday) but remains mum about when he’ll be back on the floor. Theoretically, Stoudemire’s return should boost the Knicks’ chances of making the playoffs—and advancing once they’re there—but it may also cause some on-court chemistry issues in New York.

"He's still working out, taking it a day at a time," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said, per Newsday. "He looks pretty good. I think it's going to be up to Amare and the doctors when he decides to make his move.

"When they tell me he's ready to go, he'll be right back in the starting lineup, playing the way I expect him to play."

But while Carmelo Anthony has been thriving in the power forward spot in Stoudemire’s absence he will go back to small forward when Stoudemire returns. And the difference in Anthony’s offensive production in the eight games since Stoudemire has been out has been stark compared to when they've both been in the lineup.

Before Wednesday’s game in Milwaukee, Anthony has averaged 29.8 points per game, on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 38.7 percent from 3-point range, in that eight-game span, compared to 19.9 points, on 39.9 percent field goal shooting and 29.3 percent from long range prior to his teammate’s injury.

Writes the New York Daily News, “Stoudemire and Anthony have yet to prove they can successfully coexist on the court. The Knicks are 29-28 overall but just 16-20 when Anthony and Stoudemire both play.”