If Amar’e Stoudemire can play through the pain of a strained back — an “if” that won’t be known until he takes the Garden floor tomorrow night and tries to do all the things he can do — then there’s no reason the Knicks can’t win this best-of-seven series against the Celtics and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
That sigh of relief your heard late yesterday from the Garden came after results of an MRI exam didn’t reveal any structural damage to Stoudemire’s back. But if he can’t play through the pain that benched him in Game 2 in Boston, the Knicks won’t have a chance against the Celtics even after playing valiantly Tuesday night without him and injured point guard Chauncey Billups.
Odds are, they won’t get the kind of heroic effort Carmelo Anthony put forth (42 points, 17 rebounds) and the determined resolve of an undermanned supporting cast that outrebounded the Celtics (53-28) and generated enough free throws (21 of 27) to make the game close before losing 96-93. Asking Melo and the Misfits — Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Toney Douglas, Roger Mason Jr., and Anthony Carter — to produce like that again would be greedy.
But if Stoudemire can get back in the lineup for tomorrow’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden and Sunday for Game 4, then there’s no reason the Knicks can’t even this series and make this a best-of-three sprint to the finish.
That’s based on not just what we’ve seen from the Knicks, who have competed hard and could have won both games at TD Garden had their late-game execution been better. It also is based on what we’ve seen in the Celtics, who are searching for the kind of chemistry that produced their 17th championship in 2008.
Put simply, here’s why the Knicks, down 0-2, can win this series:
Celtics “Big Three” haven’t been dominant. Ray Allen came through with a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 1, Kevin Garnett rescued the Celtics in Game 2, and Paul Pierce has been busy chasing Anthony. But they’ve been unable to impose their will on the Knicks for 48 minutes. They simply have used their experience and savvy to be smarter in the final minutes. The Knicks should be alert for such exploits in coming games.
Celtics are getting nothing from their bench. Who would have thought the Knicks had better depth than the Celtics? It’s true. Boston got 10 points from its bench Tuesday, while the short-handed Knicks got 23.
Celtics’ frontline isn’t imposing. Boston won’t admit it misses 6-foot-10 center Kendrick Perkins, traded to Oklahoma City in February, but it does. Jermaine O’Neal had some good moments in Game 1, but was benched in favor of Glen Davis in Game 2. With Shaquille O’Neal out with a calf injury, the Knicks’ ability to outrebound the Celtics by 16 on Tuesday was no fluke.
The Celtics have been more lucky than good. The offensive foul called on Anthony and the no-call on a tripped Douglas in Game 1 and barely beating the Knicks without Stoudemire, Billups and a no-show Landry Fields in Game 2, Rivers was right when he said the Celtics were “lucky” to win. “We have to play better and smarter,” the Boston coach said.
The Celtics have lost their aura. The Celtics have beaten the Knicks six straight this year. So what? The Knicks almost won Game 1 with Anthony shooting 1-of-11 in the second half and nearly won Game 2 with Stoudemire and Billups out of the lineup. Combine a hot-shooting Anthony with a healthy Stoudemire and Billups, and the Knicks should have the advantage.
The team trailing 0-2 is more confident than the team leading 2-0. The Knicks know they will have the benefit of the home court the next two games. “It’s going to be a fun environment,” Walker said. “They’ve won two on their home court and we get a chance to go back in front of our fans and be comfortable in our arena and see if we can even this thing up.”
The Knicks learned in Boston they can win this series. But they will need Stoudemire to do it.