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 from MSG on TWITTER

Courtesy of my boy Sebastian from NetsareScorching:

“…Before we talk about today’s game, I just wanted to point a few things out about the Nets’ first win.  Up until Friday, Brook Lopez was averaging 14.8 shots per game.  Against the Bobcats, Brook got 22 shots.  One was from 17 feet, one was from 11, and the rest were inside the paint.  As I noted on Thursday, co-coach Del Harris has been blessed with terrific centers throughout his coaching career, and he knows how to get them shots in the paint, and in bulk.  Looks like that is exactly what he has planned for Brook.  Also, how about Courtney Lee huh?  He is still doing all of the little things (4 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block), but he finally coupled it with a good shooting night.  When he can do that, he will have a big-time impact on the game (this sure sounds familiar).  Granted, it is only one game, but I think we can expect more games like these in the future.

To today’s game.  Last time the Nets played the Knicks, they kind of had what looked to be a good offensive game.  The problem though is that they played right into the Knicks’ hands.  They took a lot of quick shots, took too many threes, and they got into a track-meet with the Knicks.  That is the only way that team can win.  Also, the Nets rotated poorly and gave up a good amount of wide-open threes.  Onto the match-ups:

Devin Harris vs. Chris Duhon

What I really like about Devin Harris’ game is that despite poor shooting performances that happen from time to time, he still can score, because he just knows how to get into the lane and draw contact.  Sure he was only 2-14, but he got to the line 13 times, hitting on 11 of those attempts.  Oh and he put up 8 assists with only 1 turnover.  Today should be no different, Harris is much quicker than Duhon, so you can expect to get him into the lane with ease.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Wilson Chandler

Courtney Lee looks to be 100% now, but he is going to have his hands full with Chandler.  Chandler has great the size of a forward and the skills of a guard.  It is going to be interesting to see if Lee can use his quickness to his advantage to get around Chandler so he can attack the basket.

Advantage:  Push…more”

Where: MSG

When: 6 PM

Starting Lineups:

Orlando (13-4)

PG- Jason Williams

SG- Vince Carter

SF-Mikael Pietrus

PF-Rashard Lewis

C- Dwight Howard

New York (3-13)

PG- Chris Duhon

SG- Larry Hughes

SF- Wilson Chandler

PF- Danilo Galinari

C- David Lee

Notes:

If there was a game to play Darko Milicic, tonight might be it.  Even he probably won’t be enough to stop Howard and the Magic.

Jason Williams, who Donnie Walsh claimed off waivers over the summer, has played well since the injury to Jameer Nelson.  I guess the reports of him being in game shape over the summer were true, right?

Anyway, tonight will be a tough one for the Knicks to handle.  I see the Magic as the class of the East and favorites to return to the finals (based on what I have seen thus far).

Let’s go Knicks.

My boy Nick from nuggdoctor.com has this to say about tonight’s game in Mile High:

“…The Knicks like to attempt a lot of three’s. In fact, New York has hoisted more three-pointers (433) than any other team in the NBA so far this season while averaging nearly 29 attempts per game. However, their infatuation with the long ball hasn’t translated into great overall scoring as the Knicks barely shoot 30% from range and overall are one of the lowest field goal shooting teams in the league. With that picture painted, it should also come as no surprise that New York doesn’t get to the free-throw line very often. The Knicks shoot an average of 21 free-throws per game, but to their credit do shoot a relatively decent 79% from the line…

…The Knicks are a porous bunch defensively and are allowing their opponent nearly 108 points per game while Denver comes into tonight averaging 115 points per game in games at Pepsi Center. This leaves me no choice but to believe tonight’s game might be a “Black Friday” special in the box score with about three Nuggets in the 20+ range as Denver routs the Knicks…”

I like reading other blogs because I’m always curious to see if people are actually watching the Knicks. This is stat heavy, but for the most part accurate.

I just feel like every team I root for have been losing, and yes I know the number of combined losses over the past, say, 8 weeks, but after last night’s horrendous Giants effort, Denver has the chance to step on the throats of New York again with little resistance.

And that really bothers me.

Follow Tommy’s LIVE tweets from MSG.

Tommy Dee says: Check out Zags’ chat with Doc Rivers, who relates to D’Antoni’s struggles.

When: 1 PM

Where: MSG

Lineups:

Celtics:

PG- Rondo

SG- Allen

SF- Pierce

PF- Garnett

C- Perkins

Knicks:

PG- Duhon

SG – Hughes

SF- Chandler

PF- Gallo

C- Lee

Notes:

Today marks the MSG debut for Curry, and with Boston’s fierce frontline, he might be needed. Coming off two nice wins, the Knicks hit a brick wall today in the Boston Celtics. However, we all remember how the Knicks surprised the C’s last season at the Garden. Can magic strike twice on Broadway?

Let’s go Knicks.

Nate shoots at wrong hoop…coach frowns. Finger point to BDL.

Devin Harris is back, Eddy Curry showed signs.

The Nets are searching for their first win of the season, and the Knicks handled them during the preseason.

Let’s have a chat…

Welcome Justin (Jcmoney) to the fold. Justin will be adding insight and monitoring the young bucks.

           Despite the turmoil within the New York Knicks roster, the Knicks have a foursome of bright young talent locked into contracts beyond this season. After several games this season, I will try to analyze how all of our youngsters have contributed and what they need to do to improve.

Future Player of the Game:
1.) Toney Douglas: 21 PTS, 9-14 FG, 2 STL
Douglas had by far his best game of the season, getting 23 minutes including the majority of the fourth quarter. Despite missing the final shot to tie the game, he showed good judgment with his shots allowing most to come within the flow of the game. The extra work on his shot is evident as he went 3-7 from beyond the arc. He was, as only Clyde could describe, “moovin’ and groovin’” with two ridiculous drives that tied the game, eliciting Duhon to jump off the bench with a smile. He was also great in the zone defense rotating from player to player and pestering the opposing Guards. If he is going to be getting significant minutes at point guard, however, he needs to start taking better care of the ball. He had two of his passes land in the hands of the Jazz and seemed to bobble the ball a few times. This will come with more experience. Overall, a great game by Toney Douglas.

2.) Wilson Chandler: 17 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST
Very solid game from Chandler, do not loose hope in him yet. He was having some trouble with his 3pt shot but was pretty consistent with his mid-range game. He looked great when in the fast break and if the team can push the ball more his value will increase. Had a good rebounding game as well and played nicely within the zone defense. Do not give up on Chandler yet, he is going to be a very solid player.

3.) Danilo Gallinari: 7 PTS, 3 REB, 2 BLK
The Rooster seemed to disappear a lot in this game. He was not really making much of an impact on either side of the ball, and ended up sitting a majority of the fourth quarter. He had two nice blocks in the first half, one on the first play of the game. He also got his hands in the passing lanes more than usual, but several times fell asleep in the zone defense. Andre Kirilenko hit 5 three pointers, and several times Gallinari was caught off guard trying to run to get a hand in his face. There was several times where it seemed he was just standing around, not only on defense but also on offense. It seems when he fatigues a little he tends to get lazy and not move as well off the ball. When cutting to the basket and setting picks, he becomes more effective, but when he fails to move a lot, like in today’s game, he gets lost.

4.) Jordan Hill: DNP-CD
Hill couldn’t get any minutes in a close game; Hopefully, we will see some of him against the Hawks tonight.

As the Knicks enter tonight’s game against the Pacers it’s fair to label this one a must win. The Pacers are one of the few teams the Knicks SHOULD beat and they are at home.

Troy Murphy is iffy for the game and should he not play, the Knicks simply have to get it done.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I’m curious if I asked you before the season started over the first 5 games, would you have signed for 2-3 with 2 overtime losses?

The Knicks have to put together the same effort from the other night against the Hornets. If they don’t and they allow the Pacers their first win, while starting out 1-4, I’d be extremely disappointed.

Tonight the New York Knick’s square off against the New Orleans Hornets at 7:30pm. New Orleans has gotten off to a rough start (1-3) and are looking to take advantage of the Knick’s recent struggles. It will be a pleasure to watch the best point guard in the game Chris Paul work his magic on the court.

If the Knicks fall down big like they did against Philly there will be no coming back in this game. The Hornets are simply too good despite their slow start. Look for Gallinari to continue his breakout season and drain a few more treys. While the Knicks have preached defense throughout the pre-season and early games during the actual season they let up 119.3 PPG. To combat this they are scoring 106.7. Therefore they have lost by an average of about 12 PPG during the first three games of the season. What happened to the Knicks from last year? Despite the fact their record was far from impressive at the very least they were in almost every game. Although the Knicks pushed it to overtime against the Bobcats and the 76ers they were out of most of the game. This simply isn’t exciting basketball. Tonight they must come out of the gate from the opening tip! Since when are the Knicks better in the clutch then during the beginning of the game? Let’s keep in mind the Knicks haven’t started 0-4 in over 7 seasons. So a loss tonight would be truly devastating.

Al Harrington‘s attitude has been very positive. In response to his demotion to coming off of the bench he had this to say… Via Nba.com “”If coach wants me to come off the bench, I’m going to be the best at it,” Harrington told the Knicks’ official Web site. The team needs to look to him for leadership because clearly he is up for the position. However, the NBA hasn’t been happy with Al over the past few days…

Courtesy of Nba.Com…
New York Knicks forward Al Harrington has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. Harrington was fined for comments he made on Friday, October 30.

It should be a good game tonight with the Knicks going for their first win of the season. The most important thing is to improve on their awful defense and as Chris Duhon said “we need to be the ones throwing the first punch instead of always getting hit first.”

Where: MSG

When: 7:30 PM

Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (3-2)

N/A

Celtics (5-1)

PG – Rajon Rondo

SG – Ray Allen

SF – Paul Pierce

PF – Kevin Garnett

C – Rasheed Wallace

Rest of Rotation: Big Baby, Eddie House, Bill Walker, Marquise Daniels, Shelden Williams, Kendrick Perkins

Injuries: Eddy Curry (strained hamstring)

Game Notes

The C’s extended their preseason winning streak to five as they defeated the Raptors 101-82 in Toronto…Kevin Garnett finished with a game-high 21 points in just under 28 minutes of action…Ray Allen and Eddie House were the only other Celtics to reach double-figures with 20 points and 13 points respectively…Rajon Rondo contributed a solid all-around game with eight points, five boards, six assists and two steals…The Raptors were led by Hedo Turkoglu and his 16 points while Chris Bosh chipped in with 15 and Andrea Bargnani with 13.

The Knicks have played well defensively thus far, but the Celtics represent another opportunity to see where they stack up against the league’s best. Again, like last game, it’s too early to go nuts, but this game is a bit more significant as we get closer to the start of the season. We know that the line up hasn’t been set yet so it will be interesting to see how D’Antoni continues to tinker with the rotations.

When: 2 PM

Where: Albany

Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups

Nets (0-0)

PG – Devin Harris

SG – Chris Douglas-Roberts

SF – Jarvis Hayes

PF – Yi Jianlian

C – Brook Lopez

Rest of Rotation: Keyon Dooling, Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, Josh Boone, Terrence Williams, Sean Williams

Knicks (0-0)

PG – Chris Duhon

SG – Larry Hughes

SF – Al Harrington

PF – David Lee

C – Jared Jeffries

Rest of Rotation: Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson, Darko Milicic, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas

Injuries: Eddy Curry (torn calf muscle) Courtney Lee (inflamed foot tendon)

GAME NOTES

Knicks (preseason) basketball has returned, and it feels so good. It is only preseason, and that’s why we need to not get too high or low on players. Preseason is the time to get a first glimpse at the young and new guys (Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas, Gallo, Darko Milicic,) have the team build chemistry going into the season, to try out different lineups and check their cohesiveness, and to get a look at the guys on the bubble (Sun Yue, Joe Crawford, Warren Carter, Ron Howard.)

It’s only the first preseason game, but I’m looking forward to seeing Danilo Gallinari. He had a great camp, and I think he’s poised to have a breakout year. I’m also interested in Toney Douglas. I didn’t think he was all that impressive in Vegas; He had two good games, and during his last two he had more turnovers than assists. His offense was also nowhere to be found. But, he too had a good camp, and an impressive four years at FSU, so it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a spot in the rotation with good preseason play. Jordan Hill is raw, but I really like him. I liked him before the draft, and I like him now. His shot selection is often iffy and his post moves wild, but he’s a big man made for this system, and he may surprise.

Mm, who else? Larry Hughes, Chris Duhon? Not thrilled to see either. Al Harrington has stepped up as the vocal leader on this team, and his play on the court is simply overlooked. Hopefully Wilson Chandler has worked on his handle and his jump shot is a little more consistent. In terms of the bubble guys, I’m not a huge Warren Carter fan. Where do his minutes come? Sun Yue really intrigues me, and I love Joe Crawford.  Tomorrow will be everybody’s first chance at seeing the team play together, and I’m looking forward to it.

Where: Orlando

When: 8 PM

Watch: ESPN 2

Knicks (30-49)

PG- Chris Duhon

SG- Wilson Chandler

SF- Al Harrington

PF- David Lee

C- Jared Jeffries

Magic (58-20)

PG- Rafer Alston

SG- Courtney Lee

SF- Hedo Turkoglu

PF- Rashard Lewis

C- Dwight Howard

Game Notes:

The Magic are a very good team.  I never thought that they would be this good without a true big man to play with Howard.  Lewis and Turkoglu are both small forwards that play like guard.  But they are a three point shooting team.  And a good one at that.  They have a shot at 60 wins.

As for the Knicks, they have one more win than the Warriors.  With three games left and with the Warriors with 4 games left, it will be interesting to see who nabs that 7th spot in the lottery seeding.  Aside from that, I hope that Crawford, Sims, and/ or Sene get some burn tonight.  Enjoy!

When: 1pm
Where: MSG
TV: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (29-46)
PG- Chris Duhon
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Wilson Chandler
PF- Al Harrington
C- David Lee

Raptors (29-45)

PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Anthony Parker
SF- Shawn Marion
PF- Chris Bosh
C- Andrea Bargnani

Preview

Well, we all now get to have a close up look at Chris Bosh for the next two days.  I went to the game last year at the Garden when Bosh threw up 40 points on the Knicks.  We all know that Walsh has his eye on this guy, so let’s see what he can show us today and tomorrow.

The Raptors are currently 1/2 game ahead of us in the standings, or shouldI say, we are 1/2 game ahead of them in the lottery standings.  With the Raptors coming off a win over the Magic (did anyone watch them demolish the Cavs last night?) and apparently playing with a legit purpose, I can see a sweep this weekend.  With the Warriors playing good ball, it is not out of the question for the Knicks to leap-frog into the 7 spot.

The story of the game, to me, is Chris Bosh.  But of course, let’s see if D’Antoni can give Sims or Crawford a bit of playing time today.  Also, look to see if Curry gets some action. I get the impression that D’Antoni wants to play Curry so long as Curry toughens up and shows a strong desire to play.  We will see.

When: 9pm
Where: Denver
TV: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (29-45)
PG- Chris Duhon
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Wilson Chandler
PF- Al Harrington
C- David Lee

Nuggets (48-26)

PG- Chauncey Billups
SG- Dahntay Jones
SF- Carmelo Anthony
PF- Keynon Martin
C- Nene

Preview

The Nuggets can clinch a playoff berth with a win tonight. They are also playing for a home court advantage during the opening round. The Knicks… well they are simply just playing. The Knicks, after playing last night, might be undermanned with Larry Hughes and Q Rich suffering from ankle injuries.

Look for Curry tonight. I am curious if D’Antoni will give him some burn tonight, or if he will use the “back to back” excuse for not playing him. I want to see what Wilcox can do. He looked good last night in extended action. Maybe Crawford and Sims can see some action tonight, on the road, in the second game of a back to back. What does D’Antoni have to lose?

Yeah… I couldn’t think of anything either. Let’s go Knicks.

By the way… Mucha this is another chance Anthony to showcase himself to Walsh and D’Antoni.  I know you want him.

When: 9pm
Where: Salt Lake City
TV: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (29-44)
PG- Chris Duhon
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Wilson Chandler
PF- Al Harrington
C- David Lee

Jazz (45-27)

PG- Deron Williams
SG- Ronnie Brewer
SF- C.J. Miles
PF- Carlos Boozer
C- M. Okur

Preview

The Jazz especially can’t afford many more losses if they hope to emerge from the regular season at the top of a six-team cluster in the West. Just two games in the loss column separate second-place San Antonio and Utah, which is tied with New Orleans for sixth.

Sloan’s team will also likely need to take advantage of its home games. The Jazz’s 31-6 home record is the second best in the conference behind only the Los Angeles Lakers, and they haven’t lost at home since a 106-100 defeat to San Antonio on Jan. 27.New York (29-44) doesn’t seem like an especially likely candidate to end that run, although it plays a similar run-and-gun style to the Suns under former Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, and it already boasts a win over Utah this season.With departed stars Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph making the main contributions, the Knicks won 107-99 at home Nov. 9, when the Jazz were without Williams. Overall, New York has won seven of nine against Utah, although it has lost its last two in Salt Lake City.The Knicks have dropped seven of their last eight games overall to fall out of contention for the playoffs in the East, and they have just one road win over a winning team all season.They shot just 37.6 percent in a 96-85 loss at Charlotte on Saturday night, their lowest point total since a 96-76 defeat at Houston on Jan. 10.The most interesting development for the Knicks may have been the return of troubled center Eddy Curry, who had played three minutes all season before Saturday’s game. He only played two more against the Bobcats as he works his way back from knee problems and personal issues.”I’m going (to Utah) to win the game,” D’Antoni told the Knicks’ official Web site. “I’ll try to get (Curry) out there as much as I can and hopefully he can improve as we go along. I want to win so I’ll make some decisions good or bad trying to win.”

Other Blog’s Take: Utah Jazz blogspot

“…Quick Quick who leads the league in Double Doubles. I Know I Know it’s Dwight Howard. You are absolutely wrong, it’s David Lee(who I would love to sign) from the New York Knickerbockers. One of the reasons for this is because of the fast paced game the Knicks play.

The Jazz have struggled with fast-paced high-possession teams this year and more recently our two games against the Suns showed a lot of our weaknesses.

Transition Defense, Scoring on the Zone, and Uptempo play.
The Knicks will exploit these weaknesses even more than the suns did the Knicks just don’t have as much talent as the Suns so the probably won’t win. Everything that the suns do was the brain child of now Knick Coach Mike D’Antoni. You can assume that he watched the film from the past two games and will use our weaknesses against us…”

Accuscore Projection: Jazz 115 Knicks 100