NBA

Knicks must keep red-hot Martin as starter despite Chandler’s impending return

No coach has faced more injuries to his club than Mike Woodson — not surprising since some Knicks have gray beards longer than Moses’.

And now Woodson has to make one last big decision before entering the promised land of the playoffs.

With center Tyson Chandler potentially returning tomorrow in Boston, is Woodson actually going to bench the shockingly dominant Kenyon Martin?

On Friday, Woodson said the primary goal now is to set a starting lineup and tight rotation for the playoffs in these final weeks, with 14 games left. That process begins with Chandler’s return as starting center. Chandler is close to returning from his bulging disk in his spine. The Boston game hits the one-week time frame the Knicks provided.

Woodson said his intentions are to send Martin back to the bench — a shortsighted move considering Martin’s energy, grit, rebounds and garbage buckets in the paint are heavily responsible for the Knicks’ four-game winning streak. The Kenyon-Carmelo Anthony Show has looked dandy.

“Guys seem like they are starting to find their groove right now,’’ Anthony said. “Individually and as a team, it seems we’re starting to get our confidence. Slowly but surely, we’re starting to get guys back in the lineup. We’re winning games, we’re playing extremely well, we’re playing very confidently and we’re having fun out there. It seems like we’re starting to get healthy at the right time…. This is the perfect time.”

It is the perfect time to keep Martin where he is — setting the game’s tone. The Knicks are playing their best defense since December with Martin in the starting lineup since Portland, when Chandler went down with knee and neck issues.

Woodson has a chance now to go traditional tomorrow for the first time this roller-coaster season, give the team the frontcourt size and grit needed to topple Miami. As Indiana president Donnie Walsh said after the All-Star break, only size beats Miami, not small ball.

Woodson can shift Martin to power forward, slide Anthony back to his normal spot at small forward and boast a sensible backcourt of point guard Raymond Felton and shooting guard Iman Shumpert.

It makes for a sensational defensive unit — Woodson’s foundation. And it gives Shumpert more freedom to get involved in the offense because he seems ready now. Shumpert has made several hints he has been uncomfortable playing small forward. Against Miami in their potential playoff showdown, Woodson will need Shumpert to defend Dwyane Wade.

In Woodson’s latest version of the 2012-13 Knicks, he appears bent on keeping Argentine point guard Pablo Prigioni in the lineup over Martin. Prigioni has done admirably pressuring the ball alongside Felton as part of Woodson’s three-guard alignment, but it doesn’t make sense versus Miami.

Woodson said late Saturday night after the Knicks routed Toronto again that having Chandler and Martin as a tandem would be redundant. Redundant?

Ask the Nets how redundant it was having Martin as starting power forward during two trips to the Finals. Yes, Martin, with fresher legs than his opponents after sitting October, November, December, January and most of February, is playing like that Net demon now, playing as hungry as anyone other than LeBron James.

If the Knicks are going to shock the world and upend Miami, they will need this Kenyon renaissance to rage on.

“Tyson does the same thing [as Kenyon],’’ Woodson said. “They’re pretty similar as pick-and-roll guys. Both are defensive-minded guys. Both can block shots. Both finish around the rim. Bringing Kenyon off [the bench], it becomes a double threat and we don’t lose a lot.’’

Perhaps the issue is Woodson’s reluctance moving Anthony from the 4 because he has been effective, but Melo can play the 4 when Martin is out. One unspoken reason why Woodson kept Anthony as starting power forward was it ensured Amar’e Stoudemire stayed on the bench. Hence, the two of them would not be on the court together as much.

Stoudemire, after a second knee debridement surgery, is out of the picture now. Woodson said he is not counting on Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace or Kurt Thomas despite their official timetables. Even if one of them makes it back for the playoffs, they won’t be in any condition or top form to engage in a playoff war.

So now the Knicks must ride the 35-year-old Martin.

“My knees have not been an issue for a few years,’’ Martin said. “Not playing basketball for a while, I don’t have the wear and tear. I was getting my legs ready and I want to stay that way. I want people to know I can still play. I just don’t want this to be it.’’

The Knicks will need magic to beat Miami later this spring. They will need Martin magic.