Matthew Falkenbury, theKnicksBlog.com

Welcome home Knicks, as your gift for surviving that West Coast trip by getting a win in Utah, the NBA presents to you, the Orlando Magic!

That’s right, the team that is 6-37 in their past 43 games and traded away one of its best players is in town tonight just in time to watch as Carmelo Anthony returns from injury, again.

Of course after practice today, he told the group of media members surrounding him that the feeling he has about his injury as compared to his aborted return against the Warriors is like “Night and Day”.

Well, his return is nice, and although some would think that maybe another day off against this cupcake of an opponent would be the smart thing, I actually beg to differ.

The reason being that in a game like tonight, he can work off any rust that he has and if the Knicks are as superior in comparison to the Magic like we all think, he should have plenty of time to rest in the fourth.

The Magic traded away J.J. Redick to the Bucks, don’t have Big Baby Davis and haven’t had a win of any significance since they somehow went to L.A. and beat the Clippers back in December.

I will be interested to see how many rebounds Nikola Vucevic can have with no Tyson Chandler on the floor for the Knicks. The guy is a rebounding machine and his youthfulness could be an issue for Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin.

Other than that, the Magic won’t win this game. They would need the Knicks to lose it for them to leave New York with a win tonight.

With three games against Orlando and Toronto, the Knicks have a chance to build a bit of a winning streak (you remember those don’t you?) before facing the Celtics and Grizzlies next week.

It’s nice to see the boys in orange and blue finally home again and with 16 games left and a one game lead in the division, tonight is the kind of a game where a loss will be basically unacceptable.

Five Questions About Tonight’s Game

1. How will Melo look in his return from this most recent injury?
2. Can Prigioni and Martin help the Knicks establish a defensive intensity early?
3. Will the Knicks avoid a letdown in their first game home off a long west coast trip?
4. With no Big Baby Davis and J.J. Redick traded away, how will the Magic look?
5. Can Marcus Camby step up to the absence of Tyson Chandler and Kurt Thomas?