Down 3-0, New York will need another May miracle to come back and beat Miami. At least the guy who had the greatest moment in Knicks history is offering his support.
Center Willis Reed, forever famous for limping out of the locker room on a bad knee to help lead the Knicks to a Game 7 Finals win over the Lakers, is watching the first-round series from his home outside Grambling, La.
While New York big man Amar’e Stoudemire has been bashed plenty for cutting his left hand while whacking the glass surrounding a fire extinguisher, Reed isn’t piling on.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,’’ the Hall of Famer said by phone Friday about Stoudemire hurting himself after Game 2, an injury that kept him out of Game 3 and could knock him out for the rest of the series. “I feel sorry for him. I don’t think anybody feels worse about it than he does.
“It happens. If they had been leading in the series and then he got hurt and they lost the series, then it would have been a lot more difficult for him. But they’re in a tough situation.’’
They sure are now. No NBA team ever has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
“I’m disappointed,’’ Reed said of the team he played for from 1964-74 and coached from 1977-79 being all but done in the series. “I think all Knicks fans are disappointed. … But I’m rooting for the guys. I think they had a good year. It’s just a tough series against a very good team. … They’re basically playing without three starters (injured Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert in addition to Stoudemire). Whatever happens this year, it will be a learning lesson.’’
It remains to be seen how fans will continue to react to Stoudemire, who has three years left on a hefty contract and has seen his play decline. Reed can’t remember anything like what happened to Stoudemire having occurred when he played.
“If it did, I sure would have known about it,’’ Reed said with a laugh.
The 42nd anniversary of Reed's heroics against the Lakers is Tuesday, but Reed shrugged that off, saying he doesn't know if it will even cross his mind that day. It remains to be seen if the Knicks, who play Game 4 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, will even still be alive at that point.
The Garden was remodeled during the last offseason and the tunnel Reed walked through is no longer there. Reed said he hasn’t been to the Garden yet to see the changes, but that it doesn’t matter.
As for Sunday’s game, Stoudemire is listed as doubtful. One supposes there's at least a chance he could pull a Willis Reed and unexpectedly play and help the Knicks to victory.
But the Knicks would still need three more wins to claim the series. Of course, if that were to happen, it might just supplant Reed’s moment as New York's greatest May miracle.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
