Sitting Amar'e preserves Knicks' future

GREENBURGH, N.Y.

It can't end like this, can it?

Not after Amar'e Stoudemire told us in July "the Knicks are back." Not after Carmelo Anthony got his coming-home wish in February.

Not after a narrow loss to the Celtics in Game 1 last Sunday that had Stoudemire convinced the Knicks had a great chance to win the series and that he had a great chance to lead them. "I was ready to dominate," he said.

Less than a week had passed, but the weakened power forward spoke wistfully of that more hopeful time, leaning against a wall at the Knicks' practice facility and hinting he might be out until autumn.

Everything changed during warm-ups for Game 2, when he executed one of his regular moves, reaching across his body to touch the backboard with his left hand while dunking with his right. Something didn't feel right in his back this time, though, and he hasn't been the same since. He said he was at less than 50 percent effectiveness in Friday's 113-96 Game 3 loss and felt even worse Saturday.

That, combined with the knee injury that has knocked guard Chauncey Billups out of the series, has left the team in a peculiar position for Sunday.

On one hand, for an organization still rebuilding fans' trust, avoiding a sweep -- especially after that Game 3 dud -- would have real value. No one wants to go into what could be an unusually long offseason saddled with a 10-game playoff losing streak dating to 2001.

Few outside the team realistically expected the Knicks to beat the Celtics in a seven-game slog, but fans had a right to expect a win or two to validate the current path. And the Knicks said the right -- and predictable -- things Saturday about playing to win regardless of the overwhelming odds against them in terms of winning the series.

Stuff happens, though. And there is nothing wrong with acknowledging reality and protecting what really matters, which is the future. Stoudemire seemed to be leaning in that direction.

"[The playoffs] was a great first step as a franchise for what we're trying to accomplish," he said. "We want to continue that success here over the next few years, so we don't want to further damage anything by overdoing it. So I just want to make a smart decision."

The more Stoudemire talked, the greater the temptation to hand him a ticket to Game 4 and tell him to find a seat next to Woody or Spike. Or Shaq.

He said the fact he played Friday was "not logic." He said there is a danger of causing new problems in his back by "overcompensating." And remember, when you're 6-10, there is a lot of back to go wrong.

Stoudemire said he played Friday in part "to show the fans my dedication to winning." Point made. He is the Garden crowd's sentimental favorite among these Knicks, and deservedly so.

Now sit down. Or stand. Whichever is more comfortable.

The indignity of a sweep in 2011 beats the catastrophe of a damaged $99.7-million man in 2012 and beyond. Besides, in his current state, he is not helping much in the present.

Team president Donnie Walsh said the Knicks must do their best to send the series back to Boston, but he also emphasized the positive direction and the value of this experience regardless of the outcome. "I think it was good for us to get in the playoffs," he said. "We see what we need to have and we don't have, and we have to get to work to make sure we have them."

The Knicks need plenty. The last thing they need is a damaged pillar. "There are definitely some risks in playing with a strained back,'' Stoudemire said, "and I'm not sure we want to take that risk right now. We have a great future ahead of us."

The Dolan family owns controlling interest in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision.

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