Lakers vs. Knicks: Breaking Down the Epic NBA Matchup

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will host the New York Knicks at the Staples Center on Thursday night.

The game will be televised on TNT at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

This game features a Lakers team that is off to a slow start (1-2), and appears to be a shell of the teams that won NBA championships as recently as 2010.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are putting together a team, based around Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and newly-acquired Tyson Chandler, that they hope will be a force in the Eastern Conference for the next few years.

This game will be a battle of the old guard vs. the new guard to see which team has a better chance to compete for a title this season.

Let's take a look at how these two teams match up against each other.

PG: Toney Douglas vs. Derek Fisher

Derek Fisher is getting too old to be a solid NBA point guard. This is probably his last year as a starter.

He's slow and can't guard anyone, though he still has a knack for making shots in clutch situations.

Meanwhile, Toney Douglas is a scorer. He's playing out of position at point guard, but he can still make big plays.

He has three-point range and is good enough at getting the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire that he gets the edge in this matchup.

Advantage: Knicks

SG: Landry Fields vs. Kobe Bryant

This is a pretty easy matchup to call.

Landry Fields is a decent shooting guard. He plays good defense and has three-point range.

But he's no Kobe Bryant. Even with an injured wrist, Kobe wins this matchup easily.

Huge Advantage: Lakers

SF: Carmelo Anthony vs. Devin Ebanks

The Lakers have been starting Ebanks ahead of Metta World Peace for the early part of this season.

That's because World Peace has been terrible so far.

Meanwhile, Melo is doing Melo things, meaning it doesn't matter who the Lakers put out there to guard him, he's going to score.

Huge Advantage: Knicks

PF: Amar'e Stoudemire vs. Josh McRoberts

Unfortunately for the Lakers, this will be their fourth game of the season. That means starting center Andrew Bynum will still be suspended.

That causes Pau Gasol to have to start at center, instead of at power forward where he's more comfortable.

So, a duo of Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy will have to try to keep up with Amar'e Stoudemire.

Huge Advantage: Knicks

C: Tyson Chandler vs. Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol has been called "soft" throughout his career.

Tyson Chandler has never been called "soft" by anyone.

Gasol is a good player, but Chandler poses a big matchup problem for him.

Look for Gasol to struggle as Chandler asserts his dominance defensively in this matchup.

Advantage: Knicks

What To Watch for

Metta World Peace is going to be the key to this game.

If he can give the Lakers some solid minutes off the bench and keep Carmelo Anthony under wraps, the Lakers have a shot at winning.

But, if he comes in, runs around aimlessly and takes bad three-point shots, the Lakers are in for a long game.

World Peace is the biggest wild card in this game, and a strong performance from him is the only way the Lakers can win.

Prediction

With Devin Ebanks and Josh McRoberts in the starting lineup, the Lakers have no chance of containing Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.

Look for the Knicks to jump out to a hot start and never look back.

Meanwhile, on defense, look for Tyson Chandler to hold Pau Gasol to around 10 points, forcing Kobe Bryant to score most of the points.

It's going to be a long night for the Lakers.

Prediction: Knicks 112, Lakers 95