Apologies for the late preview tonight. My mom burned her hand in the oven and now has a golf ball-sized blister that prohibits her from any driving (it’s okay if the thought makes you sick), so I’ve doubled as the family taxi today.

The injury caused my mom so much pain that she vomited, and she now has to wear an ace bandage for a few days, but do you want to know the worst part about the accident? The meal she was making at the time wasn’t even very good. If she’d been preparing her world-famous mac-and-cheese, the golf ball-sized blister would have been worth it. But that gross Frittata definitely wasn’t worth the second-degree burn. (The burn, by the way, is almost as disgusting as Tony Allen’s jumper.)

Anyway, the Celtics have a game tonight against the New York Knicks. Jermaine O’Neal will be inactive due to a sore knee, and — I’ll put it as nicely as I can – I can’t tell whether that’s a good or bad sign for the Celtics. Even without Jermaine it’s important that the C’s bounce back from Wednesday’s loss, if only to ease everyone’s panic. Losing to Cleveland evoked enough painful memories of last season. Losing to New York, at home, with a day of rest, might cause some fans to enter full-blown panic mode.

You don’t want that, Celtics, so do us a favor and win. Here are three keys to help you do just that:

1. Pound the ball inside – Amare Stoudemire defends with the tenacity of a teddy bear. Timofey Mozgov is an untested rookie. Anthony Randolph couldn’t defend the leather chair I’m sitting on. And the Celtics just happen to have the NBA’s deepest, biggest frontcourt. They should be able to own the glass and paint all night long.

2. Ride Semih Erden (Pause) - Erden’s a magician — the Turk turns water into four lokos. Okay, maybe he’s not really that good. But I’m excited to see what he can do with his first real action. He should play a solid number of minutes with O’Neal out.

3. Hit some threes – When the Celtics are at their most dangerous, they’re draining outside shots. Against Cleveland, the Celtics hit only three trifectas. Ray Allen, I’m looking at you.

P.S. – Von Wafer denied getting in a fight with Delonte West, then denied tweeting about it afterward. Umm, Von? We know you were in a fight today. No need to lie about it, bro.