Pre-Game: Hawks vs. Knicks 7:30 PM

The New York Knicks will try to get a win against an Eastern Conference power in the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks are coming off a lost to the New Jersey Nets Monday night and are hoping to get a nice win tonight.

After their win against the Mavericks the Knicks failed to beat a team that has struggled all season. Tonight the Knicks will need to show their fight and ability to beat a solid team. The Hawks will be without Joe Johnson who has knee tendinitis. Johnson will miss the next two games for the Hawks and is unlikely to make the All-Star game. The Knicks may have caught a break, but they have to stay focused. Al Horford is already out for the Hawks and his absence has been felt every game for the Hawks.

For the Knicks Jeremy Lin will be going up against a young guard in Jeff Teague and will likely see lots of pressure. Lin has played very well this season and is proving each game that he is the real deal. This game is the last game at home before the All-Star break for the Knicks before their game in Miami tomorrow night. The success of the Knicks over this stretch of wins has been the aggressive play of Jeremy Lin. In the losses the Knicks have had Lin hasn’t been as aggressive as he was. Lin will need to provide the spark for the Knicks tonight.

Carmelo Anthony returned Monday night looking to get the Knicks started off in the right direction. Anthony looked to pass and get his teammates involved early on. But Anthony, missing seven games, looked very rusty and missed some shots and layups he would usually make. Tonight Anthony will likely score more than 11 points for his team. Much noise has been made about Anthony playing with Lin, but that shouldn’t be an issue. The issue should be Anthony on the defensive end. He struggles to defend his matchups shot and often times commits unnecessary fouls. Anthony needs to stay focused tonight and try to limit his matchups points.

Amare Stoudemire scored just 17 points against the Nets on Monday night. Stoudemire has played very bad defense this year and in not seeing the ball and his man, which leads to easy opportunities for the opposition. The Knicks defense has been much improved, but the two stars for the team have both struggled. But Tyson Chandler has been the steady force the Knicks have needed in the painted area. Chandler has proven that he can anchor a defense and that is very prevalent with this Knicks team.

Tonight the Knicks need another win to get back on the winning road. A win tonight is needed because the Knicks will face the Heat tomorrow night. This game should be very entertaining from the stand point that both teams like to run up and down the court. This game can be watched on MSG at 7:30 PM. Let’s go Knicks!