AS we've all come to identify and adore, Jeff Van Gundy's nature is to prepare for the worst and count on a lighting on the dark side of his dread. No sooner had Michael Jordan committed to a second comeback than Van Gundy branded the Knicks' Garden opener against the Wizards as the most anticipated in franchise history, including the two championship ring ceremonies; if they even had such a thing in the early seventies. Which, in the coach's tormented mind, of course, doesn't figure to favor the home team.