So I'm missing out on the FreeDarko event at Vassar and hanging at home for the Knicks-Blazers tilt instead. This game scares me right to my core. Not only are the T-Zers (Timberwolves, T-Wolves, Trailblazers, T-Zers) 12-6, but they've got just the weaponry to make the Knicks look like your run-of-the-mill JCC Junior Maccabi roster. Portland's got TWO terrifying 7-footers in Oden and Aldridge to feast upon New York's napoleonic front line, and Joel "Ghostface" Przybilla to boot. Meanwhile, Brandon Roy is too big and too talented for Duhon and Roberson, probably the only semblance of a backcourt the Knicks will have to offer in the post-groin , post-heart, post-Marbury world.
If the Knicks have any shot in this one, it'll be pushing the ball faster than they ever have before and getting the Blazer big men in foul trouble. I fear that Nate McMillan's too wise a coach to let the fast pace affect his team, though, and I'll be padding my walls and strapping on my helmet in anticipation of a blowout loss. Going into a road-heavy and difficult stretch of games, though, tonight's game is a big one.
Anyway, uh...let's go Knicks! Go get 'em!
Head over to Blazers Edge to check out what our West Coast friends are saying about tonight's matchup.