Matthew Falkenbury, theKnicksBlog.com

With the weather outside not looking too good at all, the Knicks welcome in a team that is named after something involved with weather, as the Oklahoma City Thunder come to MSG.

The big news is that Carmelo Anthony is out again with a knee injury as Mike Woodson called him “the dreaded Day to Day”, which can mean anything when it comes to the Knicks.

The game yesterday was pretty a much the classic definition of “a win is a win” since the Knicks did plenty wrong. Of course since the Pistons are terrible, they still won by 10.

So, even though Melo was out for half a game against the Cavs and the entire Pistons game, I don’t think we can really take away much from those two wins.

Tonight would be a different story. The Thunder are the defending Western Conference Champions and seem ready to defend that crown with most assuming they will do just that. They are so talented they traded away an All-Star in James Harden and have not missed a beat.

Kevin Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, is as dangerous as they come and Russell Westbrook at the point is one of the best, if not the best, in the league. I honestly think Westbrook could be like a shark with blood in the water tonight going up against the Knicks defense. It may get that ugly.

But all is most certainly not lost. I happen to remember a game against another defending conference champion on national TV where the Knicks without Melo still were able to get the win, on the road no less.

I’m not saying the game tonight will be like that one in December against the Heat, but, we all know the Knicks are more than capable of having games like those.

Tonight is game one of a seven game stretch over the next 12 days that will tell us a lot about the Knicks. It will be a test for them and getting off to a good start tonight, no matter the odds others give them, would be great.

Five Questions About Tonight’s Game

1. Can the bench step up in Melo’s absence again?
2. Can Iman Shumpert or J.R. Smith guard Kevin Durant?
3. How badly will Westbrook abuse the Knicks perimeter defense?
4. Will this being the second game of a back to back hurt the Knicks?
5. How will Amar’e look going up against Ibaka and Perkins?