Stoudemire’s rehab ahead of schedule

A week after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Amaré Stoudemire was jogging on a weightless treadmill Monday — holding up 50 percent of his body weight — and it appears he won’t be out any longer than the initially projected two- or three-week time span.

Read Jerry Brown's blog, Rim Shots

With the limited post-surgery swelling now mostly gone, and his range of motion returning, this rate of progress would allow Stoudemire to be back on the floor in two weeks, and he will likely be able to take part in the final week of preseason games.

The Suns finish the preseason with a home game against Denver on Oct. 25 and a meeting with Seattle in Vancouver, British Columbia, the next night. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire could see action in one or both of those games if the current timetable holds up.

“We’re right on track and I’m feeling good,” Stoudemire said. “If we stay on this schedule, I should be back for a couple of preseason games. I need that and I’d like to get a couple games under my belt, but if we have to wait until we’re playing for real we won’t take any chances.”

Stoudemire had a loose piece of cartilage removed from the knee last Tuesday after experiencing pain during precamp workouts.

Running out of big men

The Suns, already short on big men, were really short Tuesday. With Stoudemire already out, Brian Skinner was also on the sidelines and limited to an exercise bike with a bruised left knee.

Skinner suffered the injury while banging knees with a teammate last Tuesday in Tucson but played through the pain during training camp.

The swelling lingered so the Suns had an MRI on the knee this weekend, which came back negative. “It showed a bruise exactly when he got hit,” head trainer Aaron Nelson said.

D’Antoni said Skinner was still likely to play in Thursday’s preseason opener in Sacramento. “I’d rather have him skip a day of practice and then miss a game,” he said.

Marion … from downtown

Funky delivery and all, Shawn Marion looked like the guy with the shooting tips videos Tuesday as he mastered ex-Sun and shooting guru Eddie Johnson in an impromptu 3-point shooting contest after practice.

Johnson was wearing socks and sandals, so he can be excused for falling short. But Marion shot a disappointing 31.7 percent from 3-point range last season, his worst effort in seven years.

On Tuesday, he was hitting bombs from all areas behind the arc and appears to have sharpened his eye in the offseason.

Bonus shots

With Stoudemire on the sidelines and Skinner hurting, D’Antoni said he will keep his full training camp roster of 16 players for at least another week.

Even after undergoing elbow surgery in June, Leandro Barbosa said he is still bothered by some swelling in the area at times and will continue to wear a sleeve on the elbow to protect it from the many spills he takes on the floor.

D’Antoni said he’ll use a lot of players in Sacramento and doesn’t want anyone playing long stretches as the team continues to round into shape.

“I want to make sure the starters get a good run in and a good sweat up. We don’t want to waste the opportunity. But I won’t play Steve Nash 40 minutes, I swear I won’t,” he joked.