Amar’e Stoudemire, at a promotional event for a headache remedy, said he has his own aches and pains — with his back.
Stoudemire said he still hasn’t recovered 100 percent since pulling his back muscle nearly two months ago during the Knicks’ first-round ouster by the Celtics.
Stoudemire is doing back rehab, which demonstrates the depth of the injury that Stoudemire played through in Games 3 and 4, when he was severely limited and could not prevent the Celtics from sweeping them.
“It’s still a little sore,” Stoudemire said at Chelsea Piers. “But it’s definitely getting better. I’ve been working out, getting rehab on the back. It’s getting stronger. It’s still pretty tight with certain movements.”
A source close to him said he erred in playing in that Game 4, with the Knicks trailing 0-3. It’s probably the reason why he has yet to recover fully.
“It was serious,” Stoudemire said. “It’s a sprained muscle, and it takes a while to get its motion back.”
Stoudemire’s health is always a concern. His $100 million contract is not insured because of his past microfracture knee surgery and retina surgery. In fact, the Knicks were the only club last July willing to offer him $100 million guaranteed.
Stoudemire also talked about the Knicks’ real headache — defense. He said he believes that’s a more important addition than bringing in a third superstar to duplicate the Heat’s blueprint.
“I think now it’s a matter of us really, really focusing on how important defense is,” Stoudemire said. “We have to focus on that angle only. Offensively we’re going to be great. We got two of the top five scorers on the same team. So offensively is no problem. Defensively is where we have to focus on to get better.”
The Miami Dream Team’s failure to win the championship, beaten by a deeper, well-rounded Dallas team, illustrated that three superstars and no supporting cast might not be a title blueprint.
The Knicks are at a crossroads. Do they save all of their cap space for a third superstar in Chris Paul/Deron Williams, or do they break up the remaining pie to haul in three or so solid players to complement Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire?
Stoudemire sounded like two stars is enough.
“You have two great players together, you have an opportunity to do something special,” Stoudemire said. “It’s just a matter of the phrase, trust the pass. But the key factor is you have to get better defensively.”
Stoudemire said his defensive concerns were not an indictment on coach Mike D’Antoni, who said he is “probably” going to add a defensive-minded assistant, partially to quell the critics.
“From a players’ standpoint, we really have to focus in on the defensive end to apply the energy defensively,” Stoudemire said.
Stoudemire is no fan of LeBron James, who elected not to join him in New York, but he also credited the Mavericks for James’ choke.
“Dallas did a great job of executing their game plan,” Stoudemire said. “A lot of their game plan was trying to stop LeBron and make him less effective. They did a great job of harassing him with double teams and being all over the place playing passing lanes. That creates havoc for a guy like LeBron.”
Stoudemire also said he does not feel the vibe will change around the Knicks because of Donnie Walsh’s decision to step down as president June 30, citing his return as a consultant for next season. Glen Grunwald becomes interim president.
“I was a little shocked,” Stoudemire said. “After talking to Mr. Walsh, he felt positive about the situation, which made me feel more positive about it. I talked to Mr. Dolan. He felt comfortable with the situation. All in all, we still got a great organization and have a great chance to win a championship.
“I’ll continue to talk to him and deal with him the rest of my career,” Stoudemire added. “I think we will be OK next season. He’ll be around one more year. We should be comfortable with the next man in charge.”
During the expected lockout, Stoudemire is arranging informal workouts in Los Angeles with his teammates.
“[I] talked to Carmelo, talked to Shawne Williams, talked to a few other players,” Stoudemire said. “We’ll all try to meet up in L.A. and start training in mid-July.”
Stoudemire is under the impression he can’t play in Europe during the lockout. Nevertheless, David Stern said players can if they choose.
“If I can, I’m there,” said Stoudemire, who appeared to be jesting.
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Stoudemire will be honored as Father of the Year today by the Father’s Day Council. Stoudemire, who has a place in Miami Beach, did not attend the Finals, spending time with his kids in Phoenix and L.A. . . . Ex-Knick Stephon Marbury, who attended The Finals as a fan, took a shot at Isiah Thomas when asked who should be the next Knicks president. “If Isiah Thomas can do it, anybody can do it,” Marbury said jokingly.