In addition to LeBron James and Company, there is another superstar whose reputation is on the line in the series between the Knicks and the Heat that begins Saturday in Miami.

Tyson Chandler, the Knicks’ leading rebounder and shot-blocker, could be unavailable for Game 1 against Miami because of a fever and other flulike symptoms.

Deron Williams, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez are top names who may no longer be with the team when its new home in New York opens next season.

For the first time in weeks, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are all expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday for Game 1 against the Knicks.

The first two games of the Knicks and Rangers playoff series are nearly in direct conflict with each other — a situation the N.B.A. and N.H.L. try to avoid.

The sprint to the NBA playoffs is over and the postseason lineup is one of the most intriguing ever.

The federal government is investigating the business practices of the NBA players’ association.

J.R. Smith needs another initial in his name for the playoffs. X seems appropriate.
Because he’s the ultimate X factor for the Knicks in their first-round series against Miami.
“We need him focused,” Carmelo Anthony said earlier this week.
If the Knicks get “Good J.R.,” they could have a major advantage in bench play over the Heat.
But if New York gets “Bad J.R.”, that advantage — one of its biggest coming into the series — could be nullified.

When Mike Woodson took over for Mike D’Antoni on March 14, he demanded more accountability from everyone on defense, and it worked. The Knicks held opponents to 91.5 points per game — the fourth-best mark during that span.
One of the ways he’s gotten that message across is by consistently reminding the players about his championship run with the Pistons in 2004, during which he was an assistant coach.
“He always talks about it,” Baron Davis said before the Bobcats game Thursday night.

Mike Woodson says there is a “strong possibility” that Tyson Chandler won’t play in Game 1 because of the flu. The Knicks center did not practice with the Knicks on Friday afternoon.

Most of all, the Knicks have got Carmelo Anthony playing the way he’s been playing. They talk like they’re already back in the bigtime. Talk like they have their swag back. Show everybody in Miami this weekend.

MIAMI â?? Allan Houston was removed from the attic, dusted off and shipped to South Beach presumably as a good luck charm for the Knicks and a painful reminder for Pat Riley.

One night in June of 2008, former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, then in his current role as an ESPN broadcaster, walked the tunnel beneath the stands in Boston following an NBA Finals game between the Celtics and Lakers.

After staging some memorable battles in the 1990s and in 2000, the Knicks and Heat meet again Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. But this shapes up as a kinder, friendlier rivalry than the blood feud of decades past. A look at how they match up: Point Guard Baron Davis vs.

POINT GUARD

Baron Davis shot just 37 percent from the field this season and has balanced sloppiness with creativity. Does the hurting veteran have a strong series in him? The underrated Mario Chalmers is active defensively and can shoot. He’s an unsung role player.
EDGE: Heat

SHOOTING GUARD

A…

MIAMI â?? It’s different for all five. Completely.
Round 1 between the Knicks and Heat tips off, this afternoon and after a few whistles, the Knicks will begin to deploy their bench. They probably will summon five reserves during course of the game, and for each, it will be a…

Amar’e Stoudemire and assistant coach Herb Williams were exchanging some friendly banter during the end of the Knicks practice yesterday at American Airlines Arena when the subject of Clippers phenom Blake Griffin came up.
“I’m a quick jumper, but he’s an explosive jumper,â? Stoudemire said while shooting…

MIAMI â?? Carmelo Anthony can’t wait. Neither can LeBron James.
Friends and rivals since high school, Anthony and James haven’t spoken yet since the latest playoff rendition of Knicks-Heat became finalized late Thursday night. But the talking certainly will be done on the court Saturday for Game 1 at…

MIAMI â?? The Knicks need to heed and paraphrase the mantra Frank Galvin would repeat to himself in “The Verdict,â? in the tense moments of that movie when you almost believed Paul Newman wouldn’t have the happy ending written for him.
“There are no other cases. This is the case…

MIAMI â?? They were built and billed as the Miami Dream Team, a collection of three superstars whose worth and talents could carry a supporting cast of guys named Skippy and Biff to a championship. With Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, the Heat forged the blueprint for all to…

MIAMI â?? Knicks assistant general manager Allan Houston is the expert on surviving a shortened, lockout schedule, turmoil, a bad seed, facing a tough Miami team in the first round, posting the upset and then getting within three wins of a championship.
Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson, in fact, asked Houston…

MIAMI â?? Whether it was playoff gamesmanship or not, Knicks coach Mike Woodson called it “a strong possibility” center Tyson Chandler will sit out today’s Game 1 versus the Heat with the flu. Nobody quite believes he won’t play, but the Knicks listed him as questionable.
Chandler was back…

MIAMI â?? Yes, there was a chance the Heat would face the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. But the Heat never really thought that. And though Miami sees the Knicks as the tougher opponent, it is glad in a weird way. Got to beat the best to be…