Amar'e Stoudemire draws opening night start for Knicks

It was all good just a week ago.

Now, Quincy Acy is back to reserve duty for the New York Knicks, as Amar'e Stoudemire will be drawing the opening night start on Wednesday.

Acy had emerged as a surprise candidate to start late in the preseason, with his aggressiveness and rebounding apparently appealing to head coach Derek Fisher. Instead, with point guard Jose Calderon out injured, the Knicks may have wanted to get a little more offensive punch in their starting group.

Stoudemire certainly brings that, having averaged 11.9 points on 55.7 percent shooting in just 22.6 minutes a season ago. He's no longer the explosive presence he once was, but he's a capable scorer and a dangerous dive-man in the pick-and-roll.

There should still be ample minutes off the bench for Acy, who can expend his energy in shorter bursts as a reserve. Check in, run into stuff, grab a few boards, have a quick seat - that's Acy's game.