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The Knicks will play point guard by committee for now

Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Calderon's still out. Pablo Prigioni's status for Friday is uncertain, but I find it hard to believe he'll be ready to spin 48 hours after I saw his foot kick its own ankle (Update: Pablo's out). So who's bringing the ball up against the Nets and beyond? Via The Post:

"It's the advantage of having a two-guard front - it's not one guy's job who gets the ball up the floor so it alleviates the pressure,'' said Fisher, who raved about the 29-assist/nine-turnover performance vs. the Pistons. "I think we'll be fine. Shump is showing great ability to handle the basketball. Shane is still there for us. Tim [Hardaway Jr.] can do some of it. We can bring Carmelo [Anthony] into the backcourt. There's a lot of things we can do.''

If the Nets take a defensive cue from the teams that have defeated New York, they'll press the Knick guards early, often, and away from the ball. We'll see if guys like Shane Larkin, Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Carmelo Anthony (plus J.R. Smith, who leads the team in assist rate and hopefully didn't punch anyone's balls while he was gone) are ready to beat fronts and second-option pressure, or if the Triangle will turtle like it has a few times this week.

Defensively, things still seem okay, if not better, shorthanded. Healthy Deron Williams must be too powerful for Shane Larkin to guard; if Shane had been consuming nothing but steroids and whale milk since before puberty, he might resemble Deron. Shump should get that defensive assignment every second he's on the floor, which is hopefully many seconds unlimited by foul trouble. (Update: See comments for discussion on Shump vs. Deron/Joe Johnson and who Larkin should guard. It's tough!)

Get well soon, Jose y Pablo.