This isn’t a rivalry, and it’s too early to consider tonight a big game. Most likely, the Celtics will run away with the Atlantic Division this year, regardless of what happens tonight.

But it sure is fun to have the Knicks relevant again. And it sure is fun that they’re returning to relevance with a team that’s, well, fun.

It isn’t often that a regular season game is met with as much hype as this one, especially a regular season game that includes one team that hasn’t made the playoffs in six seasons. But this is New York City we’re talking about, the land of hype. If the New York City hype machine can make Sebastian Telfair seem like the best point guard ever, it can certainly make a 16-9 Knicks team seem like a true contender. Especially when that Knicks team has storylines everywhere.

Amare Stoudemire is grabbing the majority of the headlines, but this Knicks squad isn’t a one-man band.

Lets start with Landry Fields, the rookie who has already shattered expectations. Landry Fields isn’t as exciting as Blake Griffin (is any mere mortal?), but he’s overcoming steep odds to produce a rookie season Hollywood couldn’t have even scripted. From second-round pick to November’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, Fields has come a long way in a short time. And his success is coming the right way; he’s all about grit, heart, unselfishness, and team play.

Fields’ story goes a little like this: you take a coach’s dream player; erase some of the dream’s skills (but not nearly all of the skills); force him to play his college days in the relative obscurity of today’s Stanford Cardinal, where he is ridiculously underrated; watch him be drafted in the second round; then see him become a fan favorite, and also a pivotal piece in New York’s quest to rebuild a contender. His story is not even real life. Except, ya know, it is.

Raymond Felton, too, has surprised in New York. There was a time (and it was only a month or so ago) when people doubted whether Felton could be Mike D’Antoni’s point guard. He didn’t excel in the pick-and-roll, wasn’t exactly pass-first and got off to a slow start in The Big Apple. Then, umm, he started to play the best basketball of his career. If the season ended today, Felton would be averaging career-bests in points, assists, and shooting. He’s still not Steve Nash reincarnated (is anybody?), but Felton is actually making a case for the All-Star game. If you guessed that before the season, you would have either been A) Felton’s family member, B) hammered, C) high as a kite, or, more likely, D) a hammered member of Felton’s family who was also high as a kite.

Wilson Chandler is another emerging player at D’Antoni’s disposal, and Chandler is learning how to piece together his impressive physical talents. Hell, he’s even learned how to shoot. He’s improved to the point where at least one scribe wonders whether the Knicks would be better off keeping Chandler, and their assets, rather than trading for Carmelo Anthony. Kelly Dwyer even called Chandler a “near-Carmelo.” That may be stretching it — if I’m Donnie Walsh, I’d trade for Carmelo any day of the week, and twice on Sunday — but still. Chandler has made New Yorkers smile.

I still haven’t mentioned the Knicks piece (non-Amare Division) who I am most intrigued by: Danilo Gallinari. He’s 22 years old, folks. He’s a 6’10″ shooter. And he’s already averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds per contest. When I was in college, and Gallinari was but a rookie, the Knicks held training camp at my school. I was a ballboy, and so I got to watch the practices. Gallinari couldn’t practice (his back was bothering him), but he shot around after one of the sessions. He made almost nothing but swishes from the three-point arc for about half an hour. Probably missed five times in thirty minutes. Then he switched hands, and started shooting with his strong hand. The first half hour, all those makes, had been with his left (and off) hand. I shit you not. He then proceeded to repeat his absurd shooting performance with the right hand.

I knew nothing about this kid, except that he was a highly-touted foreigner who’d just been selected in the lottery. But when you see a 6’10″ player drill shots from all over the floor, with both hands, it opens your eyes. When Mike D’Antoni called Gallinari the best shooter he’s ever seen, I understood where he was coming from. I still haven’t gotten over seeing him shoot that one day in the Skidmore College gym. The man could not miss, with either hand.

Has The Italian Stallion fulfilled all his promise? No. In some ways, he’s regressed this season after a big step forward last year. But, I repeat, he’s 6’10″ tall. He’s 22 years old. And he’s even kind of tough, despite his haircut.

These Knicks are actually quite enjoyable, and they have the New York City hype machine behind them, and so tonight’s game has taken on the feeling of an important one.

It’s not. It’s not a rivalry either. Just listen to the Knicks. (New York Post)

“We’ve got to make our mark first before we start any rivalries,” said Stoudemire, who is going for his ninth straight 30-point game after eclipsing the franchise record in that category Sunday. “We’re really just getting started, starting to regain some respect here as a team. We’ve got no room to start rivalries right now.”

Added D’Antoni, “We haven’t done anything yet. We’ll wait till we do something and wait till we threaten them. I don’t think they’re taking a whole lot of threat, this team is. We’re not there yet, but that would be our goal, to be that.”

But — rivalry or not, big game or not — we should enjoy tonight. Even if these Knicks aren’t true contenders (and I still strongly doubt they are), it’s nice to see them matter again. And it should also be nice to see two streaking teams collide, in what was supposed to be a boring December game.

Robinson has been more aggressive going to the tin. (AP Photo)

I can tell you exactly when I knew the Celtics were going to win tonight’s game against the Knicks, but you might not believe me.

They were losing 59-50 in the third quarter, and had looked listless to that point. It was the second night of a preseason back-to-back, and the Celtics didn’t have the spark they normally do. But Kevin Garnett had just hit an and-one, and there was something about his reaction, something about the way veins popped out of his neck as he screamed and clapped and hopped around and most definitely cussed. “This game is over,” I told my brother. “The Celtics are going to win this thing by at least ten points.”

The final score? 97-84, Celtics. From the time I predicted victory, the Celtics outscored the Knicks 47-25. Yet I can’t take any credit for my accurate prediction. Kevin Garnett might as well have looked me in the eye and told me the Celtics were about to turn the game around.

Garnett did a lot of the work himself, finishing with 20 points and four rebounds in only 19 minutes. I try to watch Garnett with a skeptical eye, to judge his progress harshly. When others see Garnett skying for an alley-oop, I see him four or five inches lower than he was in 2008. When others see him disrupting an opponent’s offensive sets, I wonder why he can’t create his own offense in the post. But I still had no complaints about Garnett tonight. 

He was everywhere, looking as spry as he has since that damn injury cut short his 2009 season. He looked, dare I say, like the Kevin Garnett of old, the Kevin Garnett who affects a game in zillions of different ways, the Kevin Garnett who rallies his troops with a single emotional gesture. There was one play when Garnett blocked a shot at the rim on one end, beat everyone down the floor, caught a pass from Rajon Rondo and laid it in with his left hand. The play was so beautiful, so Garnett, that I almost cried a tear of joy. Garnett won’t dominate every night anymore; those days are gone. But on the certain nights when he has a bounce in his step and a twinkle in his eye, Garnett can still raise his play to an MVP level.

On this night, Garnett carried the Celtics to victory. But he wasn’t alone. Rajon Rondo continued to pick his spots in this preseason, shooting only three times and scoring only two points, but controlled the game in other ways. When you can contribute in as many ways as Rondo does, scoring isn’t necessary every night. He dropped nine dimes and snagged eight boards, and left the whole crowd wondering, “What the hell happened?” when he dropped a no-look, left-handed pass over his head to Semih Erden.

Nate Robinson didn’t shoot well (4-14 fgs, 1-7 3-pt), but maintained his aggression. Robinson has opened up the throttle and is looking to drive to the hoop a lot more this year, using his explosiveness as a weapon. Glen Davis made a few gorgeous post moves (one athletic spin move comes to mind) and added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored an efficient 16 points and put the clamps on Danilo Gallinari once the Celtics got serious (Gallinari played well other than that stretch, during which Pierce contested every shot and forced misses).

In the battle for 15th man, Stephane Lasme had five turnovers to offset his seven points and four rebounds, and Von Wafer pitched in a solid if not spectacular eight points and five boards. Neither Lasme nor Wafer sealed a spot, but Wafer might be edging ahead because he has slowed himself down the last two games. No longer making dumb mistakes, Wafer is now letting his offensive talent shine through.

One of the characteristics that set the 2008 Celtics apart from most other teams in history was an ability to press the turbo button and leave opponents in the dust. Sitting at home on my couch, I could sense when it was about to happen. Kevin Garnett would always be the player to rev the engine with a display of emotion, a rallying cry to his teammates. Let’s blow these motherfuckers out.

Garnett would clap in his opponent’s face, or get down on all fours and bark like a dog, or pressure the opposing team’s point guard full court. No matter what Garnett chose to make his rallying cry, his message was always the same. It’s winning time, fellas. I knew immediately that the Celtics were going to win the game. The result wasn’t in question.

The last couple years, the Celtics have missed that. But not tonight. I know it was only preseason, and I know it was only against the Knicks, but it had been a long time since I watched the Celtics and knew, “They’re ready to put this game away.”

It felt damn good.

• Game Notes:
  • New Jersey native Tom Heinsohn, when told by Mike Gorman that Ronny Turiaf is fluent in five languages, said that he was fluent in two himself: “English and Jersey.”
  • Delonte West, Jermaine O’Neal and Marquis Daniels sat out tonight’s game. West is still bothered by back spasms, O’Neal bruised his hand, and Daniels complained of a sore right shoulder. None of the injuries seems too serious, although West underwent tests on his back. “We’ll know more in a couple days,” said Doc Rivers.
  • Avery Bradley missed the game, too. Rivers said Bradley might be shut down until his ankle looks better. He was limping around during his brief time in yesterday’s game.
  • Amare Stoudemire sat out for the Knicks. It was just a precaution for Stoudemire, who says he’s in the best shape of his life.

Has Pierce played his last game as a Celtic? I don't think so. But maybe. Damn.

Paul Pierce has opted out of the final year of his contract, exercising an early termination option that will make him a free agent. By doing so, he forgoes the $21.5 million he was owed in 2010-2011.

Fans will view this one of two ways: With panic, or with calm trepidation. Me? I’m kind of calm right now. Pierce loves the Celtics. He wants to retire as a Celtic. He wants to be back in Boston, and he adores the thought of his one-team legacy. He understands the C’s have unfinished business. Just listen to this recent interview:

Pierce sure sounds like a guy who wants to stay in Boston, no? Plus, what team is going to offer him loads of money? He’s 32. He’s already started the decline. He can’t take over games nearly as often as he used to. He’s a step (or two) slower than he was in his prime. Even if teams strike out on the top-tier free agents, it’s going to be mighty difficult to convince their fanbase Pierce is the right option: We wanted Paul Pierce all along! Really! I know you people all thought Lebron was the best free agent out there, but Pierce has won a title! He’s the self-proclaimed best player in the world! With Pierce, Carlos Boozer and Danilo Gallinari, we’re going to make the first round every year for the next four years! Could it get any better than that????

So I’m still pretty sure Pierce will sign with the Celtics. I’m pretty sure the only reason he opted out was to restructure his contract.

I hope, at least. Marc Stein reported that Pierce will take other offers, and seeing Pierce wearing some other team’s colors would be like seeing Jack Bauer bomb the White House. The fact remains, though, that it’s now possible Pierce has played his last game as a Celtic. Damn, that’s a sobering thought.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

A telling photo. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘We had no focus, so I thought we deserved to lose,’ Rivers said. ‘The bank shot that Gallinari hit was the basketball gods punishing us for not having great focus.’ Here was Garnett’s take: ‘It was the basketball gods hurting us.’ Glen Davis chose to tell a parable. ‘I was surprised with our play today,’ he said. ‘But that’s the way it is. If you mess with the game – if you plant bad seed – then you’re going to reap a bad harvest. We took them lightly. We have to play. Pure and simple, we have to play.’”

Jonathan Abrams, New York Times – “For two seasons, the Knicks have slashed, purged and repeated in order to trim payroll in an attempt to attract star players through free agency. How does a center who can haul in 18 rebounds and score 17 points against the playoff-bound Boston Celtics resonate? The Knicks had him for a night. His name is Earl Barron. If he is not familiar, it is because he is the latest in a line of unfamiliar names to join the Knicks. He signed last week, fresh from the Development League, as the Knicks’ forgettable season quietly winds down. He may be with them next season. He may not. But he was everywhere for a noteworthy evening Tuesday, spreading his wiry 7-foot frame to grab rebound after rebound and helping the Knicks defeat the Celtics, 104-101, and spoil Nate Robinson’s return to Madison Square Garden.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘We made up our mind we thought we were going to win at any point and we could score whenever we wanted to and all of a sudden you get outhustled,’ Rivers said. Garnett offered no excuses. ‘I didn’t think we played good basketball at all,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what you call it, but we can’t come out and play like that. We just played like . . . we played like crap tonight.’ A letdown after the win over the Cavaliers? ‘That’s over,’ Garnett said. ‘You’ve got to respect each team in this league. You’ve got to come to play every night. You can’t pick and choose when you want to play. You can’t pick and choose when you want to execute. You can’t pick and choose when you want to play defense. You’ve got to prepare and play defense. You’ve got to prepare and play each team as if you’re playing Cleveland.’ Said Perkins, ‘We’re just two different teams from what I saw Sunday. It was just two different basketball teams.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “As was the case in Friday’s meltdown against Houston, Boston’s starters couldn’t put a young and feisty opponent away Tuesday. Unlike other recent games, Boston simply seemed disinterested at times against New York. ‘The other games we didn’t play well, but [Tuesday night] I was disappointed,’ admitted Rivers. ‘It was a tough game to watch throughout. You could just see it not being there, in our defensive lapses, which, to me, is a result of focus.’ What made Tuesday’s loss sting even more was that the Hawks lost to the Bobcats, so the Celtics blew a chance to gain ground in the race for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta remains a game ahead of Boston with five to play.”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “It didn’t take long for [Nate] Robinson, who sat out the entire game against the Cavaliers, to get back in. He got the nod late in the first quarter in front of his former home crowd. ‘I don’t know about inspirational or sentimental,’ Rivers told reporters before the game. ‘But I’m going to play him because the other guys want to see him play tonight. So I’m going to give him some run and hopefully he plays well.’ Robinson looked comfortable in New York, where he spent over five years. He scored five points and dished an assist during a comeback stretch by the Celtics in the fourth quarter. Robinson also finished the game with three rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “[Ray] Allen played more than 14 minutes in the second half – only Rondo played more during that time – and managed to score just three points on 1-for-3 shooting. In the pivotal fourth quarter, Allen didn’t get a single shot attempt. The only real attempt it seemed the C’s made in getting him a shot came on that desperation attempt near the end of the game. ‘I didn’t think Ray was open,’ Rondo said. Said Allen: ‘I don’t know when I came off, if Rondo didn’t see I was open. I don’t know what he had. Right when I came off the corner, I was ready for it. But I don’t know if he thought I wasn’t open, or what.’ Regardless of whether he was open or not, it should not have come down to that shot.”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Once upon a time (read: ten days ago), a second-half collapse by the Boston Celtics would have brought an avalanche of despair. I can hear what exactly what the reaction would have been: “The Celtics are dead.” “They’re washed up.” “A bunch of has-beens.” “Noooooooooooooooo. Nooootttt agggaaaaaainnnnn.”

But there is an aspect of stringing together a few worthy performances that has already benefited the Celtics:

Melo is in town tonight.

Impressive wins go a long way towards earning a team a little leeway when a bad loss comes around.

As recently as March 14, in the wake of a humbling loss to King James and his Merry Men, Boston fans were ready to leap off the Boston Garden’s roof after every defeat. But that was then, and this is now. A second-half spanking in Salt Lake City was very similar to the crumbling in Cleveland that had people planning the Celtics’ epithet, but there was a big difference.

What was it? The Cleveland loss seemed like the rule, while Monday night’s debacle took the form of the exception. A second-half meltdown. though certainly nothing new for these Celtics, no longer occurs nightly. Monday, it even seemed like a fluke. Just a bad half, amid a bunch of good ones. A speed bump, and nothing more. It didn’t strike anyone that Utah was a better team, or had younger legs, or even that Boston mailed in another game. The Celtics just seemed like your normal contender playing its third road game in four nights and simply running out of steam.

When asked if his team had taken a step back in Utah, Doc Rivers replied, “No, we just lost the game. We’re not going to overdo this.” Just like the fans, Doc was willing to give his boys some slack after a 2-1 road trip that rekindled talk of a potential championship run. The Celtics aren’t the team to beat, but they aren’t a bunch of walking zombies, either.

Maybe the Celtics don’t deserve the amount of slack they’re being given. Maybe they should be vilified for another lackadaisical effort in a season full of them. How can a smile-filled four-game stetch erase everything the previous 40 games taught us? — Don’t trust this team. Don’t expect 48 minutes of cohesion. Don’t expect wins against good teams. Don’t expect anything short of patchy performances and persistent disappointment.

But, as Doc Rivers points out, the Celtics are “just trying to get back to where [they] were at.” For four and a half games, before Utah sped away in a dominant second half, the C’s managed to look like they had done nothing short of accomplishing their goal. The second half against Utah was proof that Boston still has work left to round into peak form, but not even being dominated by Mehmet Okur could delete the progress Boston has made since the Cleveland loss. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t burned down in 24 minutes.

Tonight, the Celtics embark on a six-game home stand, mostly against playoff-bound teams. The Denver Nuggets come to Beantown this evening for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff, hungry for a win after losing last night to the peon New York Knicks. That game saw Danilo Gallinari matching Carmelo Anthony shot-for-shot — and “English slang” for English slang — down the stretch, and should provide the Nuggets with motivation to have energy on the second night of a back-to-back.

Another day, another stiff test for the Celtics. Let’s hope they pass this one.

Both halves of it.

*****

• The Nuggets will be missing Coach George Karl tonight — and maybe for the rest of the season — after he was diagnosed during cancer treatment with bloodclots in his lungs and one leg. (Our thoughts and prayers go out to Coach Karl and his family, friends, and team.)

Gallinari after his dunk: "Surf's up, breh."

Okay, I know Danilo Gallinari is 6’10 and I understand he’s pretty agile for a guy that big. 

But he’s white, isn’t he?

Don’t tell that to Roy Hibbert, who probably thought to himself as Gallinari flushed it on his head, “Uh-oh. My friends are really going to laugh at me this time.  That’s a white boy who just put me on a poster.”

On another note, I’m not sure what I like most about this dunk…

Gallinari cramming it in Roy Hibbert’s face, or his surfboarder-like celebration.