The Battle for the Eighth Seed

Looking at tonight's slate of NBA games, there are five games to keep an eye on. First and foremost, is the Nets @ Knicks tilt getting underway at the Garden around 7:40 p.m. The Nets, who are a half game behind New York in the chase for No. 8, will be playing without injured All-Star PG Devin Harris. And the Knicks need to take this game, especially after Chicago upset Boston last night.

The Bulls are in the driver's seat at the moment. They lead the Knicks by two games and we only play them once more. Tonight, they are in Oklahoma City to battle the StolenSonics. Another reason why the Knicks really, really need to beat the Nets tonight.

A half game back of Chicago is Milwaukee, who hosts the Orlando Magic this evening. The Knicks dropped the season series to the Bucks and need to clear them by a game in the standings to avoid a tie-breaker situation. Tonight is a good opportunity to hack away at the current 1.5 game deficit.

The only other team between the Knicks and the eighth spot is the Bobcats. Larry Brown's crew is taking on the Sacramento Kings in Charlotte. Thanks in large part to a recent win over the Knicks at the Garden, the 'Cats hold a half-game edge of NY. There is one game remaining between these two teams.

Knicks Fans Should Be Rooting For:
Knicks
StolenSonics
Kings
Magic
Blazers (the Pacers are just a game behind NYK)