Bird: Amar'e could face tough road back

Bird: Amar'e could face tough road back

ED NESSEN/AP

Larry Bird knows plenty about basketball and back injuries. He forsees a tough road for Amar'e Stoudemire (below).

INDIANAPOLIS Larry Bird knows a few things about basketball, including how to shoot one and what happens when a big man cant take the court because of a serious back injury.

My back problems cost me at least three or four years, Bird said Tuesday before his Indiana Pacers took on the Knicks. After I hurt it, I always played with spasms. To fix the instability and get the disc out of there, they had to fuse my back. But I kept playing because I wanted to always get that last championship, or play for one more championship. That was just me.

Now, 20 years after his final season, abbreviated by the injury, Bird is awaiting the April 11 premiere of Magic/Bird, a Broadway play about his celebrated relationship with Magic Johnson.

The actor Tug Coker portrays Bird, but doesnt have to shoot a basketball.

I hope not, Bird said, because that usually separates the men from the boys.

He roared at his comment, but then got dead serious talking about the back injury that prevented him from perhaps winning a fourth title with the Celtics and a fourth MVP award.

I look back at my career and I had some ankle problems, but t hats nothing like a back injury, he said. I was fortunate because I never had knee problems. It was always my back.

Back issues are now a big deal for Amare Stoudemire, who missed another game Tuesday in the Knicks playoff chase because of a bulging disc. There is no telling where Mike Woodsons team will finish, minus Stoudemire, its No. 2 scoring option, and Jeremy Lin, its top point guard.

Its not as if the Bucks are just so good that theyll automatically take advantage of the Knicks two critical injuries and finish ahead of them for eighth place. But without Stoudemire, especially, the Knicks are likely to be caught.

Stoudemire made the trip here, which raised a few eyebrows because often doctors advise players with back injuries not to fly. Hes not coming back anytime soon, in case anyone took his presence to mean hes getting close. The Knicks dont really have a timetable for him, but when they go to Orlando, hell get to spend Wednesday and Thursd ay in his home area. Thats a good enough reason for Stoudemire to travel.

The question is more than whether the teams top big man will return at all in the final 12 games. Its really now all about what happens next season and beyond.

This makes two serious back injuries for Stoudemire in the last 11 months. He turns 30 in November and still has three guaranteed seasons left on his five-year, $ 100 million contract.