On the court, the Knicks had a solid week, especially considering they were without Carmelo Anthony: they beat the Pistons in Detroit (87-77) on Wednesday night and returned home to almost steal a win from one of the league's best in the Thunder on Thursday (95-94) and abuse the Jazz despite playing extremely shorthanded on Saturday night (113-84). The 2-1 week brought the Knicks to 38-22 on the season and allowed them to keep pace with Indiana in the battle for the East's two seed.

In the training room, however, things weren't going well. First, Carmelo Anthony didn't play all week due to a buildup of fluid in his right knee (he's listed as questionable for tonight). Second, after initially announcing that Amar'e Stoudemire was questionable for Saturday's game against Utah, the Knicks made it known that he in fact needs to have a debridement procedure done on his right knee and will be out for approximately six weeks. Earlier this year the same procedure on his left knee kept Stoudemire out for thirty games. A six week absence would have Stoudemire returning to the Knicks right as the playoffs begin and presumably in need of game action to work himself back into shape. Not the best timing.

What Went Right This Week: The Knicks took care of business against the Pistons, a terrible team, even if they did let them get back into the game in the fourth quarter. Raymond Felton continued his resurgence in that one, scoring 26 points on 10-15 shooting to go with six boards and four assists, more than enough production to make up for his seven turnovers. Amar'e Stoudemire continued his productive play with 22 points and nine boards in just over thirty minutes.

Against Oklahoma City, a team with the league's best offense and third best record, the Knicks played one of their best games of the season, especially considering they were without Melo. They withstood an early 10-0 run from the Thunder and rode a ridiculous performance from JR Smith, who scored 31 points on 12-18 shooting (5-7 from three) over the course of the second and third quarters (he finished with 36). Unfortunately, Smith cooled off in the fourth quarter and was unable to make the game winner at the buzzer (more on that later).

Amar'e didn't have a standout statistical performance (5-16, sixteen points) against OKC but he did battle hard with defensive player of the year Serge Ibaka and was plus-six on the night. He also did something that, for anyone, let alone Amar'e Stoudemire, was pretty amazing:

The Knicks, who battled hard in what was a one-point game for much of the fourth quarter, played pretty well on defense throughout, holding the Thunder to twelve points less than their per game average and making things hard for star Russell Westbrook (8-22, 21 points) and superstar Kevin Durant (9-20, 34 points in what qualifies as a tough night for the league's best scorer).

Kenyon Martin saw his first significant action in a Knick uniform against the Thunder and didn't disappoint. Guarding Durant throughout his seventeen minutes on the court, he made Durant work with his physical defense (he eventually fouled out). It was easy to envision Martin playing like a smaller version of Tyson Chandler, doing dirty work on offense and playing physical, tough defense on whoever stands in front of him or crosses his face. Martin followed that performance with a twelve point, six rebound game against Utah, showing he's ready for a spot in the rotation.

Playing without Anthony and Stoudemire, the Knicks played a balanced game against the Jazz, controlling the game throughout and coasting to an easy victory. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

What Went Wrong This Week: The ongoing absence of Carmelo Anthony is more than a little troubling, especially because the Knicks are never open about player health. Still, the rumor is he is going to play in Golden State Monday evening, so his knee may very well be fine. Players regularly have knees drained during the season without it significant impacting their play. With any luck, that's all this will be. And a little rest for the rest of Melo's body will probably benefit him and the team in the long run.

Losing Amar'e Stoudemire for six weeks is certainly a blow, especially since he was playing so well (he was averaging 15.8 points on 58% shooting and 5.7 rebounds in 24.5 minutes a game over his last twenty). That they lost him as coach Mike Woodson openly discussed finding ways to increase his playing time and pushed him slightly beyond his thirty minutes a game limit is something other than ironic.

It is important to remember, however, that the Knicks were 21-9 before Stoudemire returned to the lineup and are just 16-13 with him this season. They also appear to have found another useful backup power forward in Kenyon Martin. The Knicks will miss Stoudemire, to be sure, but they can overcome his absence.

On the court, the Knicks and coach Woodson had some hiccups. They didn't score from the field for the final 2:58 in Oklahoma City as they went one-on-one entirely too much, played an awkward lineup of Felton, Kidd, Shumpert, Smith and Stoudemire for much of the fourth quarter and the play Woodson drew up with the game on the line looked like this:

If that play was well designed they wouldn't give coaches whiteboards.

Player Of The Week: Knicks head trainer Roger Hinds is the most important person at Madison Square Garden right now. The Knicks need Carmelo Anthony's knee to be right (along with the rest of him) and for everyone else to stay healthy. Getting Amar'e back in six weeks or less wouldn't hurt either. More than anything, the Stoudemire injury reduces the Knicks' ability to withstand an injury to Carmelo Anthony to nil. They need Dr. Hinds to have the best stretch of his NBA career to end the season.

Up Next: Oh boy. The last 22 games of the season are rough for the Knicks, and they get started with a trip west to play five games in eight nights against the Warriors, Nuggets, Blazers, Clippers and Jazz. That's four playoff teams on the road in five nights. A 3-2 trip would be a success and 2-3 would be passable. It's that tough. On the bright side, when the Knicks are on the west coast, you can wake up in the morning on the east coast and follow JR Smith's late night tweets in real time, which is always a treat. Stay tuned.

You can follow Jonathan Fishner on Twitter @therealkingfish, and check out his blog The Real King Fish.