Adam Zagoria's post on New York Knicks | Latest updates on Sulia

The next several days will be critical for the #Knicks. Amar'e Stoudemire & Carmelo Anthony are both expected to

return to the court on New Year's Day against the Portland Trail Blazers, but coach Mike Woodson has said he wants to see how Stoudemire reacts to practice on Sunday and Monday. (http://zagsblog.com/articles/woodson-hoping-amare-returns-on-new-years/) Assuming Stoudemire is good to go, he may well come off the bench as the sixth man, bolstering a second unit that includes Steve Novak, J.R. Smith and Pablo Prigioni and maybe Rasheed Wallace when he returns from a stress reaction in his left foot. Anthony has missed two games with a hyper-extended knee and has taking his share of beatings this year. He's already missed six games this year with ankle, hand and knee injuries. The Knicks obviously need their best player healthy going forward. In the bigger picture, the Knicks are 31-40 -- including 1-7 in the playoffs -- with both Melo and Amar'e in the starting lineup, but 8-2 under Woodson. Going forward, the two will need to coexist and Stoudemire must not disrupt the winning ways the Knicks (21-9) have established since Melo has taken over the team. The next week should be interesting.