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          New York Knicks

          Barkley: Amar'e has lost his talent

          • Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterNov 6, 2013, 02:47 PM ET
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              Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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          Charles Barkley says the Knicks are in deep trouble with Amar'e Stoudemire.

          In an interview on ESPN New York 98.7, Barkley weighed in on the fading Knicks forward, who is on a strict minutes restriction as he manages his troublesome knees.

          “You all in trouble with Amar’e,” Barkley said. “I like Amar’e as a person, but I don’t see him doing anything in the NBA, to be honest with you. I think he has lost his skill. He lost his talent.

          Listen to the complete interview:

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          “He played the game on talent when he was younger,” Barkley added. “He played the game 100 percent on talent. And now he has lost his talent and he is in serious trouble.”

          This season, Stoudemire hasn't resembled the player the Knicks signed to a $99.7 million deal in 2010. He is averaging 3.5 points and four turnovers while playing in just two of the Knicks' first four games.

          Barkley also chimed in on the loss of center Tyson Chandler, who will miss the next four to six weeks with a small, nondisplaced fracture of his right fibula.

          “They got no answer for him,” the TNT analyst said on The Mike Lupica Show. “He is the most important player. I mean obviously Carmelo [Anthony] is important, but Tyson Chandler -- I am a big Tyson Chandler fan -- without him, they are in serious trouble.”

          The Knicks do have a former No. 1 overall pick in Andrea Bargnani, but Barkley doesn’t expect the 7-footer to suddenly make an impact on the boards or defensively.

          “He is a 7-foot jump shooter who is not a good rebounder, not a good defender,” Barkley said. “He can make some shots periodically, but the problem with the Knicks has always been on the other end of the court on defensive rebounding.

          “That is why they are going to miss Tyson so much,” Barkley continued. “He had to play defense for everybody; he had to get every rebound. Without him, they can’t replace that.”

          Barkley thinks the Knicks will have to play up-tempo to compensate for the rebounding and defense they will lose from Chandler for at least a month.

          “You’re not going to be that good defensively. You are not going to be able to rebound the ball,” Barkley said. “I think you just got to run and gun, to be honest with you. They just got to run and gun now.”