UPDATE (11:35 AM): Amare Stoudemire has been ruled out of tonight's game, but Chauncey Billup
For one night, the Knicks' Big Three could be reduced to the Big One. Carmelo Anthony may be left alone as the Knicks' top gun when the team visits New Jersey to take on the Nets tonight, in Anthony's first appearance there as a Knicks. In New York's victory on Wednesday night over the Philadelphia 76ers, Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire both sustained injuries that have listed them as questionable for tonight's game. Billups re-injured the same thigh that sidelined him early in his Knick tenure, and Stoudemire could miss just his second game of the year with a sprained ankle.
The Nets are banged up as well, as starters Deron Williams, Anthony Morrow and Kris "Mr. Kardashian" Humphries all missed the Nets' Wednesday loss in Detroit, and Williams has since been ruled out for the rest of the season. The game sets up perfectly for Anthony, who has been on fire as of late. 'Melo is enjoying his best shooting stretch since becoming a Knick, and perhaps his best of the season. He has shot an astounding 51.6% from behind the arc in his past five games, where he's averaged 31.4 points-per-game and 9 rebounds per, all Knick wins.
When the Knicks went on their brutal 1-9 stretch before this five game unbeaten streak, a positive record at the end of the season seemed in question. But With four games remaining on the Knicks' schedule, the Knicks need to go just 1-3 to ensure they finish with an over .500 record. With road games at Indiana and Boston on the horizon, and a home date with the Bulls, the Knicks best chance for that one win is likely tonight, especially as the Nets are without Williams, their only truly great player. This may be Anthony's first game in Jersey since he basically told the franchise it wasn't good enough for him, but it's not expected to be a raucous atmosphere. Expect to see a lot of orange and blue in the Prudential Center stands.