Today marks the most important practice for the Knicks this millennium. Marcus Camby gets it on, for the first time since preseason writes the New York Post.

There is still hope - although small - that if everything goes well today at Purchase College, the Knicks' starting center will make his season debut tomorrow vs. the Bulls in a 1 p.m. Garden matinee.

The New York Times writes that the Knicks are 5-8, but in an Eastern Conference full of parity, they are not even close to being in a serious hole. If Camby, who has missed all but two practices and six minutes of a preseason game since training camp, can return soon and remain healthy, the Knicks may begin resembling a playoff team again.

While neither Camby nor his teammates want to admit that he is their savior, he is. His distinctive abilities enable him to change the nature of a game and the state of a franchise, particularly for an undersized club like the Knicks.