It’s time for the New York Knicks to prove that the changes made to the roster were the right moves and that this is a team ready to compete. After a really tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28), it’s time to bounce back and beat a struggling Lakers team. The Knicks play in Staples Center on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 10:30 p.m. ET, making for a long night for dedicated fans back east.

I wrote last night how the Knicks were very flat against the Warriors in the second half, especially after holding a six point lead at halftime. While Tyson Chandler was going through foul trouble, the Knicks just seemed to lack the defensive intensity necessary to beat the better teams in the league. It almost seemed like a number of players on the roster have put too much pressure on Chandler to become the only one putting out the extra effort on defense. It worked in the first game against the Boston Celtics when Chandler blocked 6 shots, but he can’t do it every night by himself.

The Lakers are a much different team without Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that is what the Knicks get on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Lakers have also lost two of their first three games, losing to the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings before beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Now the Knicks come to town, and the game goes into primetime for viewers watching on the West Coast. It’s also the second game on the TNT schedule for the night, meaning the game is about to get over-analyzed. Hopefully the Knicks can put up really good numbers and leave a lasting opinion with the broadcasters.

Any success for the Knicks is going to come from shutting down Pau Gasol on defense and working an inside-outside game on offense. Kobe Bryant is going to score his points, but Chandler and Amare Stoudemire have to keep Gasol from catching fire in the low post. On offense, it needs to become a balance between the three-point shooters for the Knicks and the post-up games of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The shooting percentage has to get better than the 4-for-21 (19 percent) effort that New York had on Wednesday night (Dec. 28) though.

It’s time to put the excuses aside and for the Knicks to prove that they can get up for a game against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

More From YCN :

Knicks Crushed By Warriors

No_Garnett_Suspension

New_York_Wins_Opener_Against_Boston

Knicks_Win_Second_Preseason_Game

Baron_Davis_Comes_To_Knicks

Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks head out on the road to take on the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night (Dec. 28). It’s a tough game because of the depth and youth that the Warriors have on their side, but a good aspect of this match-up is that Stephen Curry may miss the game with an injury.

Curry is one of the best young guards in the NBA, but he is down with an injured ankle that he suffered in the preseason and then re-aggravated. Curry averaged 18.6 points and 5.8 assists as the point guard for the Warriors last season and was looking to improve upon those numbers. He played in the first two games for the Warriors this season, averaging 12.5 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals, so having him out of the game really helps New York. There is a chance he feels better by game time, but even if he plays, Curry will have limited mobility.

For the Knicks, this is a great chance to prove something to the rest of the league. Having a road trip to the West Coast this early in the season is a tough endeavor, with games against Golden State Wednesday (Dec. 28), the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday (Dec. 29) and the Sacramento Kings on Saturday (Dec. 31). Hopefully it’s a test that the team can pass, and that by the end of December the Knicks are sitting in first place with a 4-0 record.

The Knicks are also still trying to figure things out with a host of new players this season. Guard Mike Bibby is back in the lineup and should provide some minutes off the bench and that is extremely important with Iman Shumpert out due to an injury he suffered in the first game.

The starters for the Knicks are point guard Toney Douglas, shooting guard Landry Fields, small forward Carmelo Anthony, power forward Amare Stoudemire and center Tyson Chandler. For the Warriors, the starters could shift if Curry is unable to play. The most likely scenario is that Monta Ellis shifts to point guard and Brandon Rush joins the starting lineup as the shooting guard. Starting at small forward is Dorell Wright, at power forward is David Lee and at center is Andris Biedrins.

The Warriors are averaging 92.5 points per game while giving up 98 per game through the first two opponents. The team has posted a 1-1 record and is grabbing 42 rebounds per night. New York scored 106 points in the game against the Boston Celtics and gave up 104 points. The team only managed 31 rebounds though, making the Knicks the worst rebounding team in the NBA so far. Hopefully that can change a bit on Wednesday night.

Anthony is also the leading scorer in the NBA with 37 points per game and Chandler is second in blocks at 6 per game. Those are just stats from one game and the Knicks hope they can get duplicated on Wednesday night. Start time is at 10:30 p.m. ET and the game is on NBA TV for fans to watch.

More From YCN :

Knicks Take First Place

No_Garnett_Suspension

New_York_Wins_Opener_Against_Boston

Knicks_Win_Second_Preseason_Game

Baron_Davis_Comes_To_Knicks

Sources:

NBA Statistics

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

San Jose Mercury News staff and wire report

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks have claimed guard Jeremy Lin off waivers.

The Knicks are short-handed in the backcourt. Iman Shumpert could miss four weeks with a knee injury, Baron Davis might still be weeks away because of his bulging back disc and Mike Bibby missed the opener with a sore lower back.

The 6-foot-3 Lin was released by the Houston Rockets on Sunday to make room for Samuel Dalembert.

Lin averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 assists in 29 games with Golden State last season, but the Warriors waived him this month. The Rockets claimed him and then waived him again.

Lin played four years at Harvard, where he averaged 12.9 points.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.