Knicks Game 4 vs. New Orleans Hornets

The Knicks face the Hornets at MSG tonight at 7:30. Chris Paul will be looking to bring his A game under the bright lights of Broadway, so I expect some fireworks from this game.

The Hornets rely heavily on Paul to run the show, and he is backed up by newcomer Omeka Okafor at Center, and All-Star David West at PF. On the wings the Hornets have a dearth of talent, featuring washed up sniper Peja Stojakovic, enigmatic freak athlete Julian Wright, and average at best Mo Peterson. The bench is very thin, so maybe the battle of the benches could win the war for the Knickerbockers.

I am worried that Chris Paul will have his way with Duhon, so hopefully Toney Douglas and Larry Hughes (yeah last game convinced me that Hughes can still play) get a bunch of minutes at the point. I liked the small ball lineup the Knicks used last game to comeback, so it will be interesting to see if Mike D goes to it some more tonight.

I never want to predict that the Knicks will lose, since this is an optimistic blog, I gotta hope for the best, but this game will be tough. Chris Paul is a dominant player, and superstars tend to shine the brightest at the Mecca. But Gallinari is the savior and I think he will build on last games 30 point performance and maybe put up a triple double (ok maybe not).

Optimistic Prediction:
Knicks 105- Hornets 98 (Gallo with 11-17 fg, 7-11 3pt, 37 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists)