Bulls Vs. Knicks, NBA Christmas Day: Old Superpowers Rise Again

The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks had some raging battles in the 1990s. But the Bulls have been average or worse for all but two seasons since the end of the Michael Jordan era, and the Knicks have been bad since 2001. That's not the case this season.

With the acquisitions of Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, the Knicks are on the upswing, 17-12 two months into the season. Mike D'Antoni, the famed coach of the Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns (starring Steve Nash and Amar'e), finally has the Knicks offense humming in his third season on the job. The defense is rather D'Antonian, but progress is enough right now after nine seasons of sub-.500 ball.Thibodeau has been passed over for a dozen head coaching jobs the last few years. Those teams likely regret missing out on Thibodeau after seeing his work turning the Bulls defense, 11th in the league last season, into the NBA's third best outfit. Meanwhile, Thibodeau has been able to put Rose in positions of success, and he's managed the rotation rather well. (Fans have been a bit perturbed by the reliance on veteran Keith Bogans at shooting guard, but that's a quibble after the grand Vinny Del Negro experiment.)

The Knicks won these teams' first meeting of the season in Chicago as hot shooting from long-range -- 16-24 -- carried New York despite a big 24-point, 14-assist performance from Rose. Boozer did not play in that game.

Bulls vs. Knicks tips off at 12 PM Eastern on ESPN. Dan Shulman, Doris Burke and former Cavs coach Mike Brown will work the game. Follow this StoryStream for updates on how the game plays out.