Illusions Shatter With a Left to a Fire Extinguisher Case

Two summers ago, he put on a blue “NYK” cap and boldly declared, “The Knicks are back.” A depressed fan base perked up and dared to believe again. The Knicks were back because he said so.

Late Monday night, Stoudemire affirmed the Knicks’ return to dysfunction, without saying a word. His impulsive punch through a plate-glass fire extinguisher door probably ended his season and surely hastened his team’s exit from the playoffs. The Knicks trail the Miami Heat, 2-0.

Stoudemire had surgery Tuesday to repair a small muscle in his left hand. He is out for Game 3, doubtful for Game 4 and then will be reassessed — though the Knicks may be gone by then.

The Knicks were unlikely to beat Miami — a more talented, more polished and more logically constructed team — four times, even with a complete lineup. They have no chance without Stoudemire, their most skilled big man, or with the skeleton rotation that remains, given the losses of Iman Shumpert and Jeremy Lin to injury and the physical limitations of Baron Davis and Jared Jeffries.

When the Knicks are eliminated, possibly as soon as Sunday, it will mark their 12th straight year without winning a playoff series, the longest current drought in the N.B.A. A loss Thursday night would be the Knicks’ 13th straight in the postseason, an N.B.A. record.

How much, if any of this, weighed on Stoudemire’s psyche when he started looking for inanimate objects to punish is unclear. He has not spoken publicly since the incident, and his Twitter apology, while heartfelt, did not address motives.

In his brief time in New York, Stoudemire has been a model citizen, staying coolheaded through the losing streaks and the abrupt departure of Coach Mike D’Antoni, a trusted mentor.

His outburst was too rash, too extreme to be the product of a single defeat, or even two. It was as if he were raging against a greater realization: that the Knicks’ trumpeted revival was nothing but a mirage, a delusion born of desperation, binge spending and a simplistic belief that collecting superstars guarantees title contention.

Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have been together for 14 months, and they still do not function as a cohesive tag team. The Knicks are 50-50 since Anthony arrived (counting playoffs) and are 28-39 when Anthony and Stoudemire both play. Their longest winning streak this season came mostly without Anthony. Their April resurgence came mostly without Stoudemire.

Every advanced metric imaginable indicates that the Anthony-Stoudemire tandem is unworkable, with the Knicks scoring less efficiently and defending less effectively when they share the court.

As Tom Haberstroh — who mines statistics for ESPN.com — wrote Tuesday, “Playing ToolsMeasureOptionsStoudemire together was a lost cause.”

Zach Lowe — writing for Sports Illustrated’s Web site — echoed the sentiment, writing “the Anthony/Stoudemire combination has been a disaster.”

The shared conclusion is that the Knicks may be better off in this series without Stoudemire. Yet in the short term, no matter how badly their stars mesh, the Knicks have too little talent to withstand the loss.

If this pairing is indeed a disaster, it is one the Knicks may be stuck with. Anthony, acquired at the 2011 trading deadline, is now the face of the franchise, for better or worse. He is here to stay. Stoudemire — who held face-of-the-franchise status for a mere seven months, before Anthony arrived — is probably not going anywhere, either.

He is owed $65 million over the next three seasons, with a contract that is uninsured against knee injuries, making him a risk for all but the richest of franchises.

Stoudemire’s recent back injury and a growing impression (real or perceived) that he has lost some explosiveness further diminish his value. Any chance of reversing those impressions was lost in a hailstorm of glass Monday night.

The fact is, Stoudemire was playing well just before the back injury in March and looked strong these past two weeks after returning to the lineup. He was the Knicks’ most efficient player for much of Game 2, scoring 18 points while taking only nine shots from the field. Anthony had 30 points, but with a ghastly 12-for-26 shooting line. For the series, Anthony is shooting .366 — the worst among the Knicks’ starters — and yet he has taken as many shots as Stoudemire, Davis and Tyson Chandler combined.

It is understood that Anthony is the Knicks’ most gifted player and the engine of their offense. But one-dimensional teams rarely go far in the playoffs, particularly when their franchise star is shooting below 40 percent and doing little to set up his teammates. Anthony has four assists in two games, while his Heat counterparts, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have combined for 19.

Perhaps Stoudemire, who cannot create his own offense but needs a timely pass, is simply tired of waiting for the ball.

To his credit, Stoudemire has never complained about his diminished status, or his complementary role or Anthony’s ball-dominating habits. He has persevered through injuries and the death of his older brother and has attempted at every turn to make the partnership work. It hasn’t.

If the frustration ultimately coalesced in a split-second of uncontrolled fury, it would be almost understandable. Stoudemire picked the wrong gesture, the wrong time and the wrong target, but the shattered glass and the spilled blood is still the least of the Knicks’ concerns.