Because Tyson Chandler barely has played recently because of a bulging disk in his cervical spine, he was asked yesterday if he believed Kevin Garnett might test his neck to see how it fares.
“I don’t know,” Chandler said. “I’m going to test some stuff of his as well.”
The Knicks’ invaluable center and defensive stalwart, Chandler sounded in terrific spirits and declared his ailing neck is healthy. He’s set to return after a six-game absence and start tomorrow afternoon at the Garden in Game 1 against Garnett’s Celtics.
After playing in each of the season’s first 62 games, Chandler has played in just four of the final 20. The main problem has been the bulging disk.
“I feel 100 percent, honestly,” Chandler said. “It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. Best I’ve felt since I got hurt in Denver [on March 13], honestly.”
The Knicks went an impressive 12-4 without Chandler, beating the Celtics twice in that stretch. Nevertheless, Garnett missed those games as well. In the two games Chandler did play against Boston this year, he averaged nine points and 12.5 rebounds.
After Chandler initially got hurt against the Nuggets, he missed the next 10 games before returning for four contests. In his final one, an April 7 win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City, Chandler looked terrific, scoring 15 points and blocking two shots. Nevertheless, he also re-injured the disk, forcing him to sit out the rest of the regular season.
Though Chandler practiced fully yesterday, he’s aware simulating the physicality of a game is difficult to do in practice. But Chandler said he knows what’s coming — and he knows he can take it.
“You kind of know your body. I feel like I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’m actually looking forward to it.”
Chandler, who suffered from the flu in last year’s playoff series against the Heat, is integral to the Knicks. But his health is even more crucial because the team’s frontcourt is depleted, with Amar’e Stoudemire out, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin ailing, Rasheed Wallace retired, Kurt Thomas released and Earl Barron a Knick just added to the roster.
The Knicks need Chandler to be ready to log 35-plus minutes, and he certainly is fired up for the postseason, saying it fits his style.
“Playoffs is my type of basketball because you’re playing every possession with heart and passion. There is no tomorrow,” he said. “A possession can determine the series, the outcome of the series. There’s nothing like it. I love the intensity.”
mark.hale@nypost.com