Evening, babies. I'm afraid I don't have the time today to generate enough poop jokes for a recon, but let's talk Knicks-Nuggets. I'm torn over what to expect from this one.
On one hand, Carmelo Anthony should-- we don't have official word yet, but he said as much yesterday-- be back tonight. On the other hand, one of Melo's fingers is still held together by some string. On one hand, the Knicks are returning home, where they're 8-0. On the other hand, they're playing the second of a back-to-back, a scenario in which they're 2-2 so far. It's also their fourth in five nights. On one hand, the Nuggets are a poor defensive team, much less efficient than the Bulls that edged New York last night. They allow opposing team to shoot well and commit a lot of turnovers while forcing relatively few. On the other hand, they're insanely active around the rim and lead the league in offensive rebounding while drawing plenty of fouls as well.
So, uh...if Melo's ready to play competently and the Knicks have the energy to hit open shots and limit second opportunities, they should be well-equipped for a bounce-back game. If Melo's out or not himself and the bros are tired from last night, the Nuggets have the potential to out-hustle 'em. There is, of course, the added wrinkle of Melo facing his old team and Danilo Gallinari (and Timofey Mozgov, if he gets to spin) returning to the Garden for the second (right?) time.
I don't know what to make of it. I hope the Knicks do winning. Game thread later.
Update: Mike Woodson says Melo is a game-time decision again. Things like this make me feel pretty certain he's gonna play.