After seeing the brutality of HIBBERT, WEST, Stephanson we were lucky to not have MAJOR injuies to Shumpert and Carmelo. Yes a great win..but almost at great cost. You don't worry about the second seed if you looe CARMELO or SHUMPERT to what could have been devastating injuries. My wife the KNICKS QUEEN thinks God was a knick today...lol . I saw the NETS- PACERS game and Indiana are just THUGS
I am glad that the injury to Carmelo seems to have been minor, but do not be ridiculous. Neither tjhe Pacers nor the Bulls are thugs. They are just old school hard nosed defensive teams which true Knicks fans should appreciate, since this is part of the true legacy of the Knicks, and which the Knicks themselves are beginning to and should continue to get back to themselves.
That said, it looks like the Bulls will either beat up on the Pacers in the first round or on the Nets, and possibly on Miami (if they beat the Nets). I am not sure what happens if the Celtics and Bulls tie, I think the Bulls get the tiebreaker based upon conference record, but maybe not (obviously, I hope we avoid the Bulls in the first round).
If the Bulls and Pacers beat up on each other, this will help the Knicks in the second round, regardless of which of these we face.
If the Bulls play the Nets, then I will be rooting for the Bulls to win, since then they can beat up on Miami (more than I think the Nets would anyway).
As far as the thread topic, MSG confirmed my theory that all four of Tyson, KMart, Camby, and Wallace are expected to play in the first round. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Wallace may play as early as tomorrow or Wednesday. This is certainly great news because it means that he will be able to shake off some of the rust before the playoffs start.
As far as Camby, Tyson, and KMart go, I hope that they do not play this week because I want to see them as healthy as possible on Saturday. Even though Camby may be rusty as well, I do not care so much because he will mostly play for rebounds, blocks, and fouls; any offense from Camby is gravy anyway. Wallace on the other hand can help us tremendously by being a three-point threat so getting some playing time this week would be a plus.
I am still praying that Amar'e is the big secret weapon and that he plays during the playoffs. I do not agree with the folks who seem to believe he is a problem. Yes, he is not a good defender. But he has also not been healthy in the last year and a half. I still think he can be the Amar'e of the first few months when we got him, and I think he can be that during this year's playoffs. You can call me a dreamer and an idiot for this belief, if you like. But I believe that, I would hope that any true Knick fan would at least hope that I am correct, even if I am not.