This is Thanksgiving week, and the New York Knicks can give thanks for a just-concluded 3-1 West Coast trip against some soft competition that allowed the 6-8 Knicks to climb out from under a 3-8 start to the season.
The Knicks try to climb back to .500 this week. They have a home-and-home with the 5-8 Charlotte Bobcats, hosting Charlotte Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and traveling to North Carolina Wednesday. The Knicks then host 8-5 Atlanta Saturday and play in Detroit Sunday against the 4-8 Pistons.
During the West Coast swing the Knicks saw point guard Raymond Felton and small forward Danilo Gallinari step forward to join Amare Stoudemire. Gallinari averaged 25.5 points per game on the trip and is now scoring 16.7 points per game. Felton had a career-high 35-point game and averaged 22.5 points per game on the West Coast. He now averages 17.5 points and 7.6 assists per game. Stoudemire leads the Knicks at 23.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
A lineup change may have also helped the Knicks as coach Mike D'Antoni inserted Ronny Turiaf at center. Anthony Randolph did not play in either game, and Timofey Mozgov played only 14 minutes against the Clippers after a DNP against Golden State.