Evening, footstools! It is time for another game-- a fifth game-- in the Knicks' playoff series against the Miami Heat. Tonight's stakes are clear-cut: Lose, and the Knicks will be eliminated from the postseason, thus beginning the offseason. Win, and they'll continue right along on their Most Improbable Legendary Playoff Comeback of All Time (MILPCAT). Obviously, they're going to do the latter. Here are some pre-game tweets from some reporter-type people.

Ian Begley:

Woodson says Toney Douglas will play tonight for the first time this series. Says he hopes he's ready.

Marc Berman:

Stoudemire said he'd accept nickname "The Extinguisher". Putting out Miami's fire.

Tina Cervasio:

In other news, Amar'e took his braids out.

Items one and three only add to the MI-ness of the MILPCAT, which is good.

Tonight's game is at 7, and will be televised on both TNT and MSG. Comment here if you're watching, check out Peninsula Is Mightier, and please don't post photos, .gifs, illegal streams, or scans of taco meat in the thread.

BRING IT HOME, KNICKSES. MILPCAT MILPCAT MILPCAT MILPCAT MILPCAAAAAAAAAAT

Here it is, friends. Today marks either the final day of the 2011-2012 Knicks season or the beginning of the Most Improbable Legendary Playoff Comeback of All Time (MILPCAT). Or somewhere in between, I guess.

Today is Game Four at Madison Square Garden against the Heat. (Doesn't it feel like the Knicks have been playing the Heat a LOT lately? Just a brutal stretch of the schedule. It doesn't seem fair). the big news, if you haven't heard, is that Amar'e Stoudemire-- who was missing a fairly large part of his body about a week ago-- will play and start. If his stitches unravel and his hand starts to fall off, they'll just sew it back on. The whole idea sounds pretty risky, but I understand Amar'e's desire to get Knicks fans back on his side before season's end.

Woo! Game thread's here and Peninsula Is Mightier is here. Please don't post photos, .gifs, illegal streams, or scanned copies of any of your nieces' birth certificates in the thread. Get 'em, Knicks! Break the streak! Extend the season!

Tip-off's at 3:30.

Evening, friends. They're doing another one of those playoff game things again tonight. I hope it goes better this time! The Knicks will face the Heat in Miami at 7:00 on TNT (and MSG this time). You can find updates on the availability of Tyson Chandler (still sick, but less sick, and playing) and Baron Davis (still sore but playing as much as he can) here.

With or without those two, Mike Woodson and the Knicks will need to find a way to reconstruct an offense that got totally dismantled by some simple but vigorous defense from the Heat in Game One. The Knicks could barely cross halfcourt when Miami decided to front Carmelo Anthony, a topic that has been discussed and dealt with by some smart people. Now let's see how the Knicks themselves cope and, should Miami changes things up yet again, how they react. (And I suppose we should be looking for new aggressive strategies-- as opposed to just counter-moves-- from the Knicks themselves, but that first game established them as the unmistakable beta in this relationship. We'll see.)

Comment along here, check out Peninsula Is Mightier, and please refrain from posting photos, .gifs, illegal streams, and guano-themed artwork in the thread. GET 'EM, KNICKS.

Good afternoon, friends! It is time. How's everybody feeling? I'm nervous, sure, but I'm strangely at peace. I've convinced myself that the Knicks-- on the road, short-handed, and playing a heavily favored opponent-- have nothing to lose today. We've heard absolutely every reason why the Heat are going to beat New York, so...we'll see.

Meanwhile, here's the word on the injuries and the illnesses. Steve Popper:

Still gametime decision on Tyson - Woodson said hoping he'll play, otherwise Amare to center and Landry starts #knicks

Jeffries minutes still limited for Knicks.

Again, we'll see. I hope so very badly that Tyson Chandler can at least give it a shot. If he determines after a little bit that he's too flu-ridden to play his usual game (and it does sound like he's still looking pretty feeble in shoot-around), then I won't begrudge him the decision to sit back down, especially if he's willing to commit a few licking fouls first.

This is your Game One thread. This is Peninsula Is Mightier. As always-- and especially today, since it'll probably be a crowded thread-- please refrain from posting photos, .gifs, illegal streams, and homemade documentaries about wheat in the thread.

Tip-off is at 3:30 and/or whenever the Sixers/Bulls game ends. BEAT THE HEAT!

Good evening to those of you unable to make it to our P&T meet-up tonight. You are fine individuals but, alas, have been somehow constrained from joining us. Pity. You'll be with us in spirit, though, as we'll all be watching what promises to be a RIP-ROARING Knicks game against the Bobcats. As you know, New York can clinch the seventh seed with a win (though a loss might not hurt them if the Sixers lose as well), while the Bobcats need a win to avoid the worst winning percentage of all time. It's unclear how many minutes New York's starters will get-- probably very few, if any-- so this'll likely be a battle between the Bobcats and New York's bench. It promises to be very zany.

This is your thread. Rufus On Fire, which is a terrific Bobcats blog, is there. As always, please refrain from posting photos, .gifs, illegal streams, and audio clips of duck distress calls in the thread. Tip-off is at 8:00. This game is on TNT, which is hilarious. <3

Evening, princes and princesses of pizza! We've got the penultimate game of the regular season on our hands, as the Knicks return home to face the Clippers. Los Angeles still has homecourt advantage to play for. With that in mind, here's the latest on Chris Paul:

Vinny Del Negro said @cp3 will warm up in pregame and see how he feels. Said they'll be smart about it, but hinted he'll play if healthy.

Cool. For the Knicks, tonight'll be about blending Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler into a coherent whole, and otherwise just trying to win and hoping the Bobcats do the same against the Magic. The main event, of course, is the possibility that Dan Gadzuric will take the floor.

So, uh, here's your game thread. Here's Clips Nation. Please don't post photos, .gifs, illegal streams, or coupon codes for free sand in the game thread. Tip-off's at 8.

Good afternoon, children! The Knicks play their antepenultimate game of the season today against the Hawks. Recall that the Knicks have clinched a playoff spot, but they can still drop to eighth (which would please a lot of us) and still hold the slimmest of chances of climbing up to sixth. It'd require winning out while the Magic lose out. It's probably not happening.

Anyway, today's game will be...a game. Something. Tyson Chandler's not going to play and Jared Jeffries (shut down for the rest of the regular season) won't either. We'll see Amar'e Stoudemire at the five, more Josh Harrellson than usual, and perhaps some Jerome Jordan and/or Dan Gadzuric action! Let us relax and just enjoy the basketball without getting too worked up about anything that transpires, okay? (Unless Amar'e looks really great. Then I'm going to get super excited.)

This is the game thread. This is Peachtree Hoops, a fine Hawks blog. Please don't post photos, .gifs, illegal streams, or distress messages from alien lifeforms in the thread. Tip-off's at 1.

Good evening, passengers! Did y'all have good days? I hope you did. I hope you have a good evening, too, when the Knicks take Cleveland to face the Cavaliers. Everybody says the Cavs are kinda tanking, and their only wins this month have come against the Raptors, Bobcats, and Wizards. So, put simply, THEY ARE VERY LIKELY TO BEAT NEW YORK TONIGHT if the Knicks don't take them seriously. This is "Friday Night Knicks". If the Knicks let their guard down, they will be ambushed by Robert Randolph and his impish minions.

Meanwhile, Amar'e Stoudemire will return and start. He probably won't play more than about twenty minutes. Iman Shumpert will start and Landry Fields will come off the bench. I assume Dan Gadzuric won't be available for tonight's game, but it sounds like he's in Cleveland, so maybe we'll get to see him and hear him talk and assess the condition of his facial hair and stuff. Important things.

Game thread is this. Fear The Sword is here. Please don't post photos, .gifs, illegal streams, or anti-breathing screeds in the thread. Tip-off's at 7:30. <3 <3 <3

Evening, constables! The Knicks play perhaps their final game ever in the state of New Jersey tonight, as they'll face the Nets in the second of a back-to-back. The Nets are pretty bad and are missing Deron Williams, but they beat Philadelphia recently, came quite close to beating the Heat, and will have Gerald Wallace back in the lineup. Particularly after such an exciting win last night, this one stinks of trap game material. The Nets have nothing to play for but pride right now, and they'd probably quite like to beat the Knicks again and take the season series. Hopefully the Knicks can avoid that.

Oh, one thing:

Baron Davis out tonight (stomach virus). Bibby starts.

So, uh...yeah. Whatever tummy ailment bothered Davis last night appears to have lingered. Mike Bibby played very nicely against the Celtics, so...uh...hopefully he can keep doing positive things tonight. And hopefully the Knicks don't need much of him. When Bibby's off the floor, it'll be interesting to see whether Mike Woodson goes with the usual Iman Shumpert/J.R. Smith/Landry Fields "point guard" fill-in, or if he springs Toney Douglas back from the bench for a few minutes.

Should be a weird one. Comment here if you're watching, check out Nets Daily, and please refrain from posting photos, .gifs, illegal streams, and rap lyrics about Geena Davis in the thread. Get 'em, Knicks.

Evening, vintners! The Knicks have the first of a back-to-back tonight, as the Celtics will be in town for their fourth and final meeting with New York. It'll be on TNT at 8 PM.

Amar'e Stoudemire is still out for the Knicks, but Tyson Chandler will play through a sore leg part. Ray Allen will return for the Celtics. Allen, Rajon Rondo (playing the Knicks on national TV...yikes), Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett will all have to be defended by members of the Knicks, but I'm not really sure who takes who.

Meanwhile, I'm actually going to be in attendance for tonight's game. By the time you read this, I'll probably already be headed into the city. Given the way Knicks-Celtics games usually go, I am more than a little terrified and might soil myself during-- if not before-- tonight's game. Gian'll take care of the post-game stuff, then I'll be by later or in the morning to share my experience.

This is your game thread. This is Celtics Blog. Comment along if you're watching, but please refrain from posting photos, .gifs, illegal streams, and reviews of fondue cruises in the thread. Tip-off, again, is at 8:00. May the Knicks avoid their usual fate.