Knicks Hall of Fame center Willis Reed readily admits he's not a betting man. But after he and the Knicks won their second NBA championship in 1973, he would have plunked down a few bucks the next title would have arrived well before the 40-year mark the franchise is now approaching.
Maybe, just maybe, this will be the year, Reed said. Obviously, there is a monster obstacle known as the Miami Heat in the way, but with a little luck and a lot of health, it could be done.
A real lot of health, Reed emphasized.
"The biggest thing for you now is to get yourself completely healthy and ready for the playoffs," Reed said before the Knicks earned their 11th straight victory with a 101-83 victory over the Bucks Friday night at the Garden. "I would love to see them and Miami for the Eastern title. That would be great. I would like to see them get totally healthy and play like they have the last 10 games."
Which means, for starters, getting defensive stoppers such as Kenyon Martin, Tyson Chandler and Rasheed Wallace healthy.
"Those are good pieces to have," Reed said. "Jason Kidd is a good defensive player. Jason Kidd is smart. Jason Kidd has played in three championship series for a title. He won one in Dallas, lost two in New Jersey. Kenyon is a great defensive player and that's very significant. Get Rasheed healthy and you have experienced guys who have been there. If they can get all the pieces together I think they've got a chance. I like their team."
And another team Reed really liked was the 1973 team honored at the Garden, a team he said was better than the 1970 titlists, a claim that didn't sit all that well with the '70 backers. Reed explained his reasoning, which included depth, a healthy Phil Jackson, Earl Monroe and Jerry Lucas, for starters.
"I kind of think of this championship ['73] as being one that was probably the forgotten championship," Reed said, "because when I'm traveling, in the airport, wherever I am, people always talk about 1970. They really don't remember the 1973 championship and most of them probably don't remember that the team played for the championship in '72.
"But I think this group of men, even though we all love 1970, that first time around it's like having a date and all that, but I think the '73 team was a better team, one through 12."
fred.kerber@nypost.com
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