Mr.Bottomtooth
11-20-2007, 10:54 AM
Suns notebook: Knee pain again troubles Amaré
Jerry Brown, Tribune
Raja Bell was back on the court practicing with his teammates Monday. But that doesn’t mean the Suns were intact for the end-of-practice scrimmage.
Amaré Stoudemire again felt stiffness and soreness in his troublesome knee and spent the end of the workout exercising with the trainers while his teammates pressed on.
As with Bell, Stoudemire said he expects to play tonight in the first of back-to-back meetings with the Kings — this one in Sacramento. But having to beg off another practice shows the Suns center is still day-to-day.
“Today I was a little sore but it’s normal. It’s not going to be 100 percent all the time,” he said. “I want to practice and play every day, but I’m going to be smart and cautious about the situation. I couldn’t quite get it going today, so I saw it as a day to exercise and get stronger.”
Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni was surprised to find Stoudemire struggling. “I didn’t think anything was wrong, then we started and he couldn’t quite get through it,” he said.
Bell said he was “able to do what I wanted” in practice despite his troublesome ankle, but said his status would likely be decided at the morning shootaround. D’Antoni described Bell as “a little out of sorts” but expected him to play — although he might stick with Leandro Barbosa as a starter while Bell recuperates.
“Raja is our starter, he’s going to end up there … so don’t read anything into that,” he said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/102395
Jerry Brown, Tribune
Raja Bell was back on the court practicing with his teammates Monday. But that doesn’t mean the Suns were intact for the end-of-practice scrimmage.
Amaré Stoudemire again felt stiffness and soreness in his troublesome knee and spent the end of the workout exercising with the trainers while his teammates pressed on.
As with Bell, Stoudemire said he expects to play tonight in the first of back-to-back meetings with the Kings — this one in Sacramento. But having to beg off another practice shows the Suns center is still day-to-day.
“Today I was a little sore but it’s normal. It’s not going to be 100 percent all the time,” he said. “I want to practice and play every day, but I’m going to be smart and cautious about the situation. I couldn’t quite get it going today, so I saw it as a day to exercise and get stronger.”
Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni was surprised to find Stoudemire struggling. “I didn’t think anything was wrong, then we started and he couldn’t quite get through it,” he said.
Bell said he was “able to do what I wanted” in practice despite his troublesome ankle, but said his status would likely be decided at the morning shootaround. D’Antoni described Bell as “a little out of sorts” but expected him to play — although he might stick with Leandro Barbosa as a starter while Bell recuperates.
“Raja is our starter, he’s going to end up there … so don’t read anything into that,” he said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/102395