Live Thread: Cavs vs Knicks

Well, Cleveland stood pat today, choosing not to to ship anyone out, and instead hopefully add some insurance in the buyout market. The Knicks also chose to stand pat, but it was more like standing on 15 when the dealer has a seven showing. So after half a season of drama, Carmelo Anthony leads the the unchanged Knicks into the Q. The Cavs are, of course, missing J.R. Smith and Kevin Love while the Knicks are missing Joakim Noah. Courtney Lee is expected to return after an illness and try to infect the Cavs’ roster.

It will be interesting to watch whether the Knicks are enthused to all be back together, or if they’re already coasting till April. Other things to watch: will the Zinger be Zung by his NBA Skills Challenge victory? Will Melo be competitive? Is this the start of the Phil Jackson death march? And will the Cavs start transition to “playoff mode?” If I was a betting man (and I’m not) I’d bet the house on Cleveland beating the spread.