We are but hours from the final tip-off of the regular season. I think this weird little flurry of odd roster moves is done, and now it's just a matter of playing out a final game that matters to exactly nobody. Well, that's not totally true; if the Hawks win tonight and the Bulls lose, Atlanta will get the fifth seed. I watched them last night, though, and feel pretty certain they want nothing to do with that fifth seed, which is fine with me and should be fine with you if you want the Knicks to avoid the Bulls.
So, tonight should be another 48-minute have-fun-but-don't-get-hurt-fest for whichever players show up. Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Jason Kidd will all sit. Rasheed Wallace will sit because he retired. Raymond Felton won't sit because he's a bulldog and doesn't understand what resting is. Quentin Richardson has arrived and will play as many minutes as he can muster after a prolonged absence from the sport. If Earl Barron makes it to New York on time, I assume he'll play as well. Doesn't really matter who plays as long as they stay healthy.
More important:
- Tyson Chandler will practice Thursday and, as we heard yesterday, is expected to be ready for Game 1 against the Celtics.
- Kenyon Martin will test (or did test) his ankle and will play Saturday unless the Knicks cut his foot off (can't rule that out). No doubt about it.
- Amar'e Stoudemire's rehab is moving along, but he hasn't yet started to run. I don't expect we'll be seeing him in the first round.
I haven't seen anything today about Marcus Camby. I'm thinking about things as if he won't be a reliable option again this year.
More good news than bad news, I'd say. Knicks-Hawks is at 8. There'll be a game thread, then a recap that hopefully just says "There was a game. No one got hurt.", then we'll get a night's sleep and begin freaking out about Knicks-Celtics.