When: 8 pm

Starting Lineups

New York (10-9)

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Landry Fields

SF- Danilo Gallinari

PF- Wilson Chandler

C- Amar’e Stoudemire

Hornets (13-5)

PG- Paul

SG-Belinelli

SF- Ariza

PF- West

C- Okafor

Knicks Injuries. Ronny Turiaf (game time)

Even if Chris Paul is fascinated by Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, he assuredly is a fan of his own coach who happens to be an ex-Knick. If you remember Monty Williams, you recall a high-IQ forward who always seemed to make the right play despite lacking a tremendous scoring touch. You also will recall a polished rookie that then Knicks coach Pat Riley, entrusted to start for 23 games in the 94-95 season as a ball mover and defender. He was also a key piece to the Knicks future, as an important cog in the Charles Smith deal to the Spurs that allowed the Knicks the cap flexibility to re-tool with Allan Houston and Chris Childs, which allowed the Knicks to stay atop the Eastern Conference for the rest of the decade. Simply put, it was one of the greatest trades in Knicks history, and because Riley and subsequently Jeff Van Gundy, rarely developed rookies, Williams was essential to the deal.

Williams and Paul have the Hornets at 8-1 at home, even if not many fans are there to see it. The Hornets are good, but I actually like this matchup from the Knicks standpoint. The Hornets, contrary to popular belief, are not a run and gun team, but they could be able to be sucked into that type of style tonight, which should benefit the Knicks. The Hornets are shockingly 27th out of 30 in pace (Knicks are 2nd).   It won’t be easy, but I expect the Knicks to have the chance to pick another game off on the road.

They should be able to come out freely, and we know when either Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas or Danilo Gallinari supplant themselves as the legitimate 3rd and 4th scorers, the Knicks are a handful to beat.

Let’s hope that Ray Felton doesn’t try to do too much, but he’s in a serious comfort zone right now and it’s almost to the point where you can expect that every game.

If the Knicks can manage one tonight and head to Toronto a few games over .500, then they can really be in a good position heading into a brutal stretch of games starting next Sunday.

But as we always say, one game at a time.

Petro came in at the end of the first quarter and immediately gave up an and 1 to Ray Felton.

Then in the second quarter with the Nets up 9, the Knicks ended the half with some energy and a 6-0 run.

Defensively, the Knicks are getting beat at their own game. Watch as Gallo misses the 3 and is trying to talk to someone to see who’s job it is to “stop ball” in transition…the answer was no one and Humphries got an easy put back.

Have to defend the post better…would love to see more Anthony Randolph.

When: 7:00

Starting Lineups

New York (7-8)

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Landry Fields

SF- Danilo Gallinari

PF- Amar’e Stoudemire

C- Ronny Turiaf

Bobcats (5-9)

PG- Augustin

SG-Jackson

SF- Wallace

PF- Diaw

C- Mohammed

Pretty simple pregame here. Can the Knicks continue to execute offensively, hit key FTs and get a bigger game from Amar’e Stoudemire. I’ve often compared Amar’e to Johan Santana in the sense that they have to win the games where he has a real solid outing. They did the first 3 games of this current win streak, but they also saved STAT last night who sat stretches of the 3rd and 4th with foul trouble.

To me, this one will be a grinder, and the Knicks will  have to fight through this one. Stephen Jackson will have a bigger game and expect Gerald Wallace to play with much more energy.

But there’s no excuses, this is a game that gets the team back to .500 and over an early hump and can separate themselves from the Bobcats, who in the end will be there knocking on the door for the 8th seed or higher.

When: 7:30

Starting Lineups

New York (6-8)

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Landry Fields

SF- Danilo Gallinari

PF- Amar’e Stoudemire

C- Ronny Turiaf

Bobcats (5-8)

PG- Augustin

SG-Jackson

SF- Wallace

PF- Diaw

C- Mohammed

Via NBA.com

New York is just 1-4 at MSG, though, largely due to its inaccuracy from beyond the arc. The Knicks are hitting an NBA-worst 26.0 percent of their 3-pointers at home, while they’ve knocked down 38.9 percent on the road.

They’re 5-0 when they hit 40 percent or more from 3, and 1-8 otherwise.

Stoudemire’s production has been consistent regardless of venue, but that hasn’t been true for his teammates. Felton, who will be facing the Bobcats (5-8) for the first time after spending his first five seasons with Charlotte, is averaging 19.3 points and shooting 50.4 percent on the road as opposed to 14.2 points and 41.3 percent at home.

Gallinari’s differences have been even worse. He’s averaged 25.4 points and hit 43.2 percent of his 3-pointers in his last five road games. In the Knicks’ five home games, he’s averaged 12.8 points and shot 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Can the Knicks really fall to 1-5 at MSG?

The Bobcats just came off a game where they made 9 threes and scored 123 points against the Suns. But they are a slow pace team according to the stats they are 3rd best/worst. They are generally a good match up for the Knicks as they aren’t thick up front. Should be a good night for the Knicks if they can continue to be efficient offensively and they have to prove they can close games out at home. Again, good teams, not great teams, good teams, win home games against below average teams.

When: 7:30

Starting Lineups

New York (3-4)

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Landry Fields

SF- Danilo Gallinari

PF- Amar’e Stoudemire

C- Timofey Mozgov

Golden State (5-2)

PG- Ellis

SG-Curry

SF- Wright

PF- Lee

C- Biedrins

We know that this has been billed as the return of David Lee…which is what it is. It’s not like Ewing is coming back in another uniform. While some writers want to stir the pot and apparently motivate Lee to get back at his coach, something D’Antoni dismissed immediately, Lee did his thing here, which resulted in few wins and ended up with a big payday. But this is also a game that the Knicks have to capitalize on at home. Despite last night’s putrid performance, It’s hard to imagine that the Warriors are a 6-2 team and that the Knicks will again struggle mightily from the field at home. This is a game that the Knicks should win. Monta Ellis appears to be in and Ronny Turiaf is out, which means prime time minutes for Anthony Randolph who showed some flashes.

Via NBA.com

The addition of Stoudemire might help, as he’s averaged 23.5 points in his last six meetings against the Bucks.

Milwaukee (2-5) is coming off a poor offensive performance of its own. The Bucks, who are averaging 89.6 points, shot 38.6 percent for a second straight game to see their season mark drop to 39.9. They were 4 of 16 from 3-point range and scored 35 points in the first half.

“It was just an ugly game for us,” point guard Brandon Jennings said. “It’s starting to get a little bit ridiculous now because every day it’s like it’s something – shots not falling and we just all break down. Some people are probably not on the same page, or I don’t know what it is, but it’s getting a little bit annoying now.”

When: 7:30, MSG

Starting Lineups

New York (2-2)

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Landry Fields

SF- Danilo Gallinari

PF- Amar’e Stoudemire

C- Timofey Mozgov

Washington (1-2)

PG- John Wall

SG- Gilbert Arenas or Kirk Hinrich

SF- Al Thornton

PF- Andray Blatche

C- Javale McGee

This is the Knicks’ second back-to-back of the season, and in the first one, they had a tough 4th quarter against a good Portland squad. The Knicks will need a more complete effort tonight to beat a very athletic Wizards team coming off their first win of the season (116-115 over Philadelphia).

John Wall has a very similar game to last night’s foe Derrick Rose, Wall is coming off a near quadruple-double (29 points, 13 assists, 9 steals, 8 turnovers). As Tommy and I mentioned today , there is no reason to expect the Knicks to shoot the 3 the way they did last night, but there is also no reason to expect them to struggle as much as they did their first 3 games.

Two keys for me tonight are 1) Felton and Douglas making sure they get Amar’e the ball in a better position. Amar’e has been sloppy but we shouldn’t expect him to create off the dribble, they need to use the screens deeper and allow Amar’e to get the ball while rolling to the hoop, not right after he sets the screen. And 2) The second unit having another big game: Aside from Nick Young, the Wizards’ bench is pretty suspect and gives Chandler, Douglas, Turiaf and Walker an opportunity to go on some big runs.

Being realistic/optimistic, we could all wake up one week from tomorrow 7-2, it begins tonight. Let’s Go Knicks.

So can the Knicks go 2-0 in 2010? As we always talk about, these are the games they must win at home if the team wants to make the playoffs.

For me the Nate situation is simple. He needs to stay focused. He has a million dollar incentive should the team make the playoffs and if he can continue to get past his man and make the defense react then he helps this team.

As Alan Hahn noted, Nate reportedly turned down a deal that would have sent him to the surprising (not to me) Grizzlies. Which is amazing when you consider his agent eventually demanded a trade.

Big game for the Knicks tonight, and I guess there won’t be a need for any “We want Nate” chants.

The Spurs have not been quite as good as I thought they would be this year, most likely because Richard Jefferson has not lived up to his bill.  That said, I still consider the Spurs a contender out West.

Young players like George Hill and Dajuan Blair are helping this team win, but the fate of that franchise rests in the same place it has for the better part of this decade.  That would be in the hands of their big three, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli.

Just as an aside, I always thought that Eddy Curry would be a good fit on this Spurs team from an offensive standpoint.  A deal between the two teams is unlikely as the Spurs do not have pieces to match up with Curry’s contract.  Just a thought…

Enjoy the game.  Let’s go Knicks!

Merry Christmas and hope everyone is enjoying their holiday. In looking at today’s key points, I’ll defer to the great Heat blog peninsulaismightier.

• After starting the season losing 14 of their first 17 games, the Knicks are 8-3 in the month of December.

• New York will be wearing their very weird green jerseys and the Heat will be wearing red.  Ho Ho Ho.

• The Knicks lead the league in appearances on Christmas.  This will be #45.

• D-Wade has taken just 21 free throws in his last 5 games (15-for-21).

In their first matchup the Knicks fell asleep at the end of the half. And their defense was pathetic allowing for the Heat to make 25 of 30 shots at one point. This, of course, seems to be a different Knick team defensively, it all depends on how they handle Wade all afternoon.

Check out our friend Eric Snow and NBA-TV’s pregame thoughts.

Follow Tommy’s Tweets from MSG

Tommy is also scouting DJ Augustin via Twitter…read here.

Where: MSG
Watch: MSG
When: 7:30 PM

Starting Lineups

Knicks (9-17)

PG – Chris Duhon

SG – Wilson Chandler

SF – Danilo Gallinari

PF – Jared Jeffries

C – David Lee

Rest of rotation: Al Harrington, Jonathan Bender, Toney Douglas

Charlotte Bobcats (10-15)

PG – Raymond Felton

SG – Stephen Jackson

SF – Gerald Wallace

PF – Boris Diaw

C – Tyson Chandler

Rest of rotation: D.J. Augustin, Nazr Mohammed, Stephen Graham

Injuries: Larry Hughes (strained groin)

Game Notes:

The Knicks proved that they are able to beat the Bobcats in Charlotte, where they are a much better team.  The Knicks basically have the Bobcats that win by collapsing down the stretch and turning the ball over repeatedly.  This game is a must win.  I said before the Knicks played Charlotte and Chicago that if they were able to split the series with the two teams they would be successful.  To do that, they’re going to have to handle business at home.  The Bobcats played and lost last night in Charlotte to the Jazz.  They had to travel to New York in the inclement weather, so fatigue could be a factor.  The bottom line is that this game is a matter of revenge, and if the Knicks want to be considered a playoff contender, they have to beat the teams that they will be competing with.