And now, the Brookyn Nets first visit to Madison Square Garden

The Nets will take their shortest (and most historic) road trip of the season Wednesday, to Madison Square Garden. The new team with the new colors and the new uniforms will visit the oldest arena in the NBA which like the team that plays there has undergone a "transformation." Expect the Knicks faithful to be raucous and ready. If the crowd is 10 percent black-and-white, it will be a miracle. The teams are tied, 1-1, in games played in Brooklyn, the most recent last week

The Knicks, who lost their first game at the Garden to Houston Monday night, may be without Carmelo Anthony, who's questionable. He's still recovering from being taken down by Dwight Howard in New York's (er, Manhattan's) win over Los Angeles last week. The injury is listed as an ankle issue but it's reportedly more extensive, thus the caution. It should be noted that while Anthony is hurting, he's said he really wants to play.

Without him, they are still the hottest three point shooting team in the NBA this season and have the chance to be the most prolific deep shooting club in NBA history.

Otherwise, two of the Knicks older bigs, Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby, are also hurting and both Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumphert have yet to play. Amare is expected to practice for the first time Wednesday with the Knicks D-League club, the Erie Bayhawks. (Under the new CBA, players like Stoudemire can spend some time in the D-League rehabbing. In an interesting twist, the Knicks have flown the Bayhawks into New York so they can practice at the Knicks training facility in Westchester.)

The biggest issue for the Knicks, other than Melo, is how badly the Rockets guards, Jeremy Lin and James Harden, outplayed Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton Monday, using their quick first steps to sail down the lane repeatedly against the older Knick guards. In general, their once vaunted defense is hurting, but then again, so is the Nets offense.

The biggest issue for the Nets, at this point, is obvious: they squander leads and can't make shots down the stretch once their opponent catches up to them. In general, their offense is somewhere between stagnant and constipated. They're frustrated themselves and frustrating to their fans.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• New York Knicks Game Notes - New York Knicks
• Knicks' Stoudemire willing to do 'whatever it takes to win' - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Healing Amar’e ‘totally open’ to coming off bench for Knicks - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Melo looking for an edge in rivalry - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Carmelo not caught up in rush hour - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Woodson focused on defense, not minutes - George Willis - New York Post
  
• Bigger workload for Nets' Lopez - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Amar’e Stoudemire cautious about return date - Peter Botte - NY Daily News
• Amar'e Stoudemire on his role upon return: 'Whatever it takes to win' - Al Iannazzone - Newsday
• Carmelo Anthony playing it 'smart' with sore ankle - Al Iannazzone - Newsday
  
• Carmelo Anthony feeling ‘a little bit better,’ but could still miss game - Peter Botte - NY Daily News
• Johnson won't back off prediction that Nets will be best in New York - Kristie Ackert
• Avery: D-Will 'hubbub' just part of process - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Knicks’ Stoudemire and Anthony Move Closer to Playing Together - Nate Taylor - New York Times
  
• Gerald Wallace and Deron Williams Discuss Third Matchup With Knicks - Moke Hamilton - SNY