Pre-Game: Knicks vs. Wizards 7:00 PM

The New York Knicks will play the lowly Washington Wizards tonight at the Verizon Center. The Knicks will be without Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire tonight. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said that Bill Walker will likely start in place of Anthony tonight.

The Knicks are coming off a very good win against the Utah Jazz in which they lost Carmelo Anthony six minutes into the game. The Knicks were led by Jeremy Lin, who started his first game as a Knick that night, played exceptionally well in his new role. Lin scored a career high 28 points and was the force the Knicks have missed all season long. Lin was able to get the ball inside the arc and forced the defenders to react, leading to open shots. This has been the best two games of the season for the Knicks who haven’t received consistent point guard play all season. Lin has become the star of this team in just two games. Hopefully tonight Lin can help lead the Knicks past the Wizards for their third straight win.

Steve Novak and Jared Jeffries played very well in their time on the floor. Novak scored a season high 19 points off the bench and really helped the Knicks win this game with his consistent shot making. His ability to hit the three ball really propelled the Knicks late in that game. Novak will get good minutes tonight against the Wizards simply because the Knicks need every guy off their bench. Jared Jeffries played well as he scored 13 points in a start for Amare Stoudemire. Jeffries was able to get to the line ten times in that game and that comes from a great point guard. Lin was able to get the ball to Jeffries most of the times he cut to the basket which led to easy opportunities to score.

So far the Knicks have looked much better with Lin on the floor. Everyone is playing happy and seems to enjoy playing with Lin. The one person most effected by Lin’s production is Toney Douglas. He will most likely see more than three minutes tonight, but Douglas needs to play a better game. His shot has been really off this season and if he can find a consistent shot he can really help this team. Douglas will play the off guard tonight simply because he has struggled to run the offense. Mike D’Antoni has given Douglas ever opportunity to prove himself this season and each time on the floor Douglas fails to run the offense efficient enough to win the game.

Tonight the Knicks will have to keep the lowly Wizards from getting open shots and play great defense to win this game. This game should be won by the Knicks, but they have to play this game to get the win. This game can be seen on MSG or NBA TV tonight at 7:00 PM. Let’s go Knicks!