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NEW YORK -- New York Knicks point guard Jose Calderon was a late scratch for Wednesday's night season opener against Chicago due to a nagging calf injury. Second-year point guard Shane Larkin started in place of Calderon in the Knicks's 104-80 loss to the Bulls. After the game, head coach Derek Fisher said the Knicks medical staff hadn't yet determined Calderon's availability for Thursday's game against Cleveland. "I'd say it's too early to really I guess give a definitive answer," Fisher said. Calderon had been hobbled by a calf injury late in the preseason, missing the last two exhibition games. He was initially listed in the Knicks' starting lineup but aggravated the injury shortly before the game. Larkin started alongside Iman Shumpert in the New York backcourt against Chicago and finished with six points and three assists in 26 minutes. In a somewhat surprising move, Fisher elected to start Amar'e Stoudemire at power forward against Chicago. Carmelo Anthony started at small forward and Samuel Dalembert at center. Stoudemire has played as a reserve for much of the past two seasons. But the 31-year-old had success in the starting lineup late last season, averaging 16.1 points on 57 percent shooting in the final 20 games. On Wednesday, Stoudemire scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Fisher said before the game that he might switch lineups based on the health of his team and its opponent. "We're going to try to be as consistent as possible, but reasonably flexible," the coach said.
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