Swinging between hope and doubt in a frustrating October, Amare Stoudemire found one true moment of comfort. He was alone.  Amare Stoudemire driving against the Lakers in a preseason game. Stoudemire, who missed most of last season, said the Suns played great basketball without him.  The Phoenix Suns were completing their preseason European tour in Cologne, Germany, when Stoudemire sat outside the teams castle hotel and directed his thoughts away from his knee injuries and toward poetry.  In a spiral notebook, he wrote six poems about faith, truth and African-American women raising children on their own. Ive got that in a closed book, he said two weeks ago of the poem about the women, which he entitled Special. When asked when he would display his poetry, he said shyly, When Im ready to reveal it.  Stoudemire, who will turn 24 on Nov. 16, has long used basketball as a refuge from a peripatetic life, one complicated by the death of his father when he was 12 and by his mothers periodic prison sentences. But the last year of basketball left him feeling vulnerable and more isolated than ever.  He wondered whether he would play again after having microfracture surgery on his left knee in October 2005, a procedure that has curtailed more than one All-Star players career. He returned in March but played just three games before needing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, an injury that kept him from playing for the national team this summer.  In halting fashion  an adjective never used to describe Stoudemire before the operations  he has made it back to the court. A No. 1 pick out of high school in 2002, a quickly emerging 6-foot-10 force in the league until his knee troubles, he begins this season as the backup to Kurt Thomas at power forward.  Stoudemire knows he needs his teammates now. But how much they need him and how soon they can all get into sync will determine whether Phoenix can break through in the N.B.A.s talent-laden Western Conference.  I think he understands that around the All-Star break, or March, and really going down the stretch, thats when well need him, Suns Coach Mike DAntoni said in a telephone interview on Sunday.  The Suns Steve Nash became a two-time league most valuable player last season by rallying two big men  Boris Diaw and Thomas  in Stoudemires absence and teaming them with Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell to get the Suns to their second straight conference finals. No longer revolving around Stoudemires pick-and-roll, the Suns relied on ball movement and Thomass defensive intensity.  For a team that shook up the league by running, first with Stoudemire and then without him, the Suns do not want to be caught waiting around while he makes incremental progress.  Our game is a little different than it was, Nash said in a recent interview in Phoenix, so its going to take time to fit him back into the system. Last year, we were pretty close without him.  Stoudemire could see that. There probably wasnt the highlights that I sometimes bring, Stoudemire said, but as a team, they played great basketball. They hit the open shots, spaced the floor well; Boris came in and had a great year.  Whatever works for the team, Im definitely down for it, he said of the possibility of becoming the Suns sixth man. I see myself as a great fit once I get to that point where I can be consistent.  Stoudemire often needed extra days off after being given extended playing time this preseason. Last week, he reported discomfort in both knees and wondered whether the Suns might be growing impatient with him.  By Sunday, Stoudemire felt pain free, DAntoni said. He understands until he proves it, everybody has doubts, DAntoni said. Were not going to give up on him. We believe in him.  DAntoni said he had no timetable for increasing Stoudemires minutes. I dont think theres any magic formula, he said. Its just a matter of whats pain, whats soreness, and understanding what you can play on and what you cant. Hes going to have good days and bad.  Thomas said: I think were better with him, without a doubt. Its going to give us depth. Last season, we played seven guys. In the long haul, thats only going to help.  The Lakers Kobe Bryant, who is also returning from knee surgery, said in an interview this month that there should be no debate about Stoudemires impact. Im sure people in Phoenix are talking about whether the Suns are a better team without him, Bryant said. Thats silly. Hes a phenomenal talent.  By the time the Suns reached the 2005 conference finals against San Antonio, Stoudemire was leaping out of the gym, averaging 37 points a game in that series. And I was only getting better, Stoudemire said. Im trying definitely to get back to that.  The Suns window of opportunity  Nash turns 33 in February  would seem to be narrowing.  Stoudemires success ultimately depends on his reintegration with the team, which the Suns know cannot occur just on the court. Encouraged by team officials, Stoudemire has been trying to socialize more with his teammates after a rehabilitation that heightened his isolation last season.  In Italy, during training camp, he joined teammates at an Italian soccer game. Im doing more, just to fit that bond, Stoudemire said.  Off the court, Stoudemire has a core of advisers to support him through unsettling family issues. His mother, Carrie Stoudemire, is serving a three-year prison sentence in Arizona for driving while impaired.  Carrie moved Stoudemire and his half-brother from Florida to New York when they were young. I went to something like five elementary schools, six middle schools, six high schools, he said.  Each time, sports eased his alienation. I was always good at something, whether it be riding skateboards, riding trick bikes or just playing basketball, he said.  Maybe a jersey change will help him recapture his easy dominance. Stoudemire said he wanted to honor his foundations motto, Each One Teach One, by switching from No. 32 to No. 1 this season.  He hopes for a new start, and a new finish.
Amare Stoudemire, coming off injuries and swinging between hope and doubt, looks to carve out a niche with the Phoenix Suns and again make basketball a positive force in his life.