Happy New Year, New York Knicks! For your first full week of 2011 you get to face the NBA's best team, the San Antonio Spurs and then out west for a road trip that will include a stop in Los Angeles to face the defending champion Lakers.
The week starts with the amazing Spurs coming to Madison Square Garden Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET). The Spurs are an NBA-best 29-4, even as the great Tim Duncan begins to show signs of decline, averaging a career-low 13.6 points per game. Duncan is still hauling down 9.4 rebounds per game. Manu Ginobli (18.7 points) and Tony Parker (17.7) are helping to pick up the slack.
The Knicks then begin a four-game west coast trip with games at Phoenix Friday night and in LA against against Kobe Bryant and the feuding Lakers Sunday night. Phoenix is 14-18, while the Lakers are unsatisfying 23-11. After a loss on Sunday to the Memphis Grizzlies, coach Phil Jackson said Bryant "has to screw up the gae" with too much one-on-one, while Bryant said "I'm not buying any of that Zen (bulls---)."
Should be a fun week.