i penciled this in as a loss as well but if j.o. ain't playing, then we have a shot.

He'd better be with the team-- if he signed a contract, he's already getting paid!--- though i highly doubt he'll get any minutes tonight, anyway... unless there's a blowout in either direction.

The Knicks catch a break--- the Pacers played last night in Indiana, and had to travel to NY. If Jermaine O'Neal doesn't play, the advantage is huge.


Marbury SHOULD be able to toy around with Jamaal Tinsley and Anthony Johnson. Without Houston, Artest shouldn't have a specific defensive assignment, which may actually work in the Knicks' favor. He might have his focus shifted around Penny, KVH, and Shandon... and also might have to guard Marbury.

Al Harrington has been suffering from knee pain lately, and maybe the late night flight and back to back action will work against him. Still, he'll be motivated about playing back at home and simply getting big playing time.

Predictions:
Look for Marbury to get his defenders in foul trouble before Artest ends up getting assigned to him in the 4th quarter. Expect Artest & Harrington to shoot a lot (considering they're home) to impress friends and family.

Miller probably won't go off, since Houston is nowhere to be found. Penny/Shandon will probably do a better defensive job against Miller/Artest anyway.

KVH will get a hard foul from Foster, Harrington, and Artest each, and will look soft in the first half. KVH will have a hot 3rd quarter and shoot a lot of free throws once he starts moving his feet...

Doleac will play more minutes than Mutombo...

Kurt Thomas should be able to get some scoring opportunities against Foster...

And of course, the Knicks will win. :)

Tech, I know ya struggling in fantasy but cmon man. Have you seen pacers play without J.Oneal? Tinsley will force Starbury to play a lil defense tonight, the guy is in the best shape of his life. Watch how he helps the pacers beat us tonight.

Posted by gogetit:

Tech, I know ya struggling in fantasy but cmon man. Have you seen pacers play without J.Oneal? Tinsley will force Starbury to play a lil defense tonight, the guy is in the best shape of his life. Watch how he helps the pacers beat us tonight.

Heh. No fair--- it's just one day--- I have time to catch up-- losing Francis for a game could hurt in the end, however.

Anyway, I actually have been a big Tinsley fan since he came to the NBA and think he can be fabulous if the team can deal with 3 TOs a game from risky passes. However, Carlisle is all about defense and Tinsley simply doesn't play it. If Marbury burns him a couple of times early, look for AJ to get big minutes. This is the one matchup where the Knicks have a huge advantage. Without O'Neal (their shot blocker), the paint will look pretty inviting to the Knick slashers.

Funny to think that all of a sudden, the Knicks added 3 of these guys (Marbury/Hardaway/Moochie) when we started out the season with just Shandon.

Playing without their superstar is a big hit for the Pacers... let's see if the Knicks can capitalize.

Yea ya right oasis I get you the last week of the season buddy, but remember this I use to be in 8th place out of 16 and now I'm in 2nd only trailing you. No injuries anymore!

Demarr sighting!

Posted by martin:

wow! check out the KVH D on Artest.

I know!! I always thought KVH was a decent defender. I just think he gets really lazy and lets the guy get around him a lot.

Posted by gogetit:

Watch the damage tinsley does tonight!

Could you be anymore wrong? Stephon is totally schooling Tinsley in every single dept. of the game!

So far so good...keep it up for 2 more quarters. As much as i wanted anderson to start for houston, bench him...he's doing almost nothing, except causing fouls