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Knicks basketball has arrived! The games don't count, so everyone's a winner!
New York will take on the hated Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. in Hartford -- a.k.a. the former home of the Whalers. Here's the starting five:
Fisher says Calderon, JR, Melo, Bargnani and Dalembert will start.
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) October 8, 2014
The "Bargembert" frontcourt! I hope to never see this in the regular season. In case you were wondering why J.R. was chosen over the likes of Tim Hardaway and Iman Shumpert, Fisher has you covered:
Fisher said the Knicks will hold out Shumpert tonight due to his hamstring issue.
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) October 8, 2014
Fisher says he told players that things can still change w/lineups. JR got the start in part due to strong play, in part due to SG injuries
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 8, 2014
"Strong play" J.R. sounds better than last autumn's "knee surgery and weed suspension" J.R.
This will be our first chance to see the likes of Samuel Dalembert and Jose Calderon suit up for the orange and blue. One new 'Bocker who won't be making his debut tonight, however, is big man Jason Smith:
Jason Smith is not with the #Knicks tonight due to personal reasons, the team said.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 8, 2014
Remember, folks: THIS IS PRESEASON!
Fisher said it is not a set lineup; he'll look at different combinations in preseason
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) October 8, 2014
Good luck to all, good rest for Shump, and please nobody else get hurt!