First off and foremost, Knicks Journal would like to send deepest condolences to Knicks superstar Amar'e Stoudemire, who flew to Florida today to be with his family following the tragic death of his older brother. Our prayers are with him during this tough time.
With Stoudemire out tonight and his return date unknown, Jared Jeffries will be starting in his place. Jeffries certainly deserves the bump up after tallying 9 points and 10 rebounds (while also taking three charges) off the bench in the team's exciting 99-92 win over the Nets on Saturday night. His defensive presence will most definitely help the Knicks front court contain the Jazz's formidable duo of Paul Milsap and Al Jefferson (should he play).
Along with Jeffries, Jeremy Lin also earned the right to start following the best night of his young career on Saturday. As such, Lin will be inserted into the starting five in lieu of Iman Shumpert, who the Knicks hope can instead provide that much needed boost off the bench.
Along with the strong Jazz front court, Devin Harris may also prove difficult to hold down for the Knicks. Though he hasn't displayed the same explosiveness that made him previously an all-star with the Nets, Lin is surely to have his hands full guarding the talented floor general.
With STAT not on the court tonight, Lin may once again be looked upon to provide his team with some scoring. With that said, Lin's bigger strengths this weekend included his ability to get his teammates involved and elevate their offensive production. Look for the Knicks to run through Lin tonight and hope he has efficient enough organizational skills on the court to add to the fluidity of the team's offensive game.
For more on the Knicks' upcoming challenge(s), and why Lin may be just the man who could help, make sure you check out my first piece on KnicksNow.com.
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