The projected starting lineup for New York is Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Samuel Dalembert. For Sacramento, it's Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins.

Having suffered a loss to the Washington Wizards at home and on national television on Christmas day, the Knicks will go on a road trip to take on three Western Conference teams. Despite 34 points from Carmelo Anthony, the Wizards were still able to take a win in New York. Washington’s fire power was just too much for the Knicks, as they had five players in double digit scoring. Quincy Acy will not be playing in this game, as he will be serving a one game suspension. Things got heated between Acy and John Wall last game, as some physical confrontation happened between the two. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would respond to the incident, as he fined John Wall 15,000 dollars, while Acy received a suspension. .

Sacramento may not be as strong as a team as Washington, but they do have some players that are capable of scoring solid numbers. The Knicks will have their hands full going up against one of the top big man performers in this league in DeMarcus Cousins. This season, we have seen New York having trouble with guarding the paint, and Cousins is quite capable of having his way inside. He will most likely be matched up with Samuel Dalembert for the majority of the game. Darren Collison has been having a solid season and should also be a player to look out for. Carmelo Anthony will most likely be guarded by Rudy Gay, who has shown to be a top defender in the league. Gay averages above 20 points a game this season.

With two more game left after this matchup, New York will look to start its road trip on a positive note. It won’t be easy, however, because after the Kings, the next two upcoming opponents will be teams over .500. One must wonder whether the nightmare will end this upcoming year for the Knicks. According to a report on ESPN, J.R. Smith said, “I mean it’s a nightmare. We just gotta wake up from it.” One can only hope a New Year will mean new things for New York. Hopefully, Anthony and his teammates will improve their chemistry and help each other out on this healing road.   

The game will start at 10:00 P.M. EST.