Both Newsday’s Anthony Rieber and the NY Post’s Andrew Marchand reported today that Knicks rookie G Nate Robinson and C Jerome James squared off in practice yesterday. Sadly, Robinson didn’t use a slingshot and James was not injured.

The younger Knicks (Robinson, David Lee, Channing Frye) are getting plenty of minutes early in today’s contest with Golden State, Channing Frye having scored 10 midway through the 2nd quarter, New York trailing 41-37 , a virtually festival of poor foul shooting by both teams.

With Chicago visting the Meadowlands last night, the Post’s Fred Kerber coaxed the following out of former Knick Tim Thomas.

Thomas was asked about how he saw the Knicks fitting in with one of his former coaches, Larry Brown.

“I’m not even concerned with that. I’m not there,” Thomas said. “Ask me about my point guards here.”

OK. How are your point guards in Chicago?

“They’re great. They pass the ball,” Thomas said.

(UPDATE : Warriors 83, Knicks 81.

In which Coach Brown rewards the Knicks second unit (Lee, Frye, Robinson) by replacing them with Malik Rose, Matt Barnes and Quentin Richardson (2-8 from the field, 0 for 4 from 3 point range). It wasn’t the rookies that gave up the lead in the game’s final minutes, nor was it the new faces that couldn’t hit a shot when it counted. There was some light comedy in the way Golden State’s Mike Dunleavy was allowed to launch brick after brick, unguarded, but full credit to Mike Montgomery — he might not have an NBA Championship ring, but he’s smart enough not to have more than one player who can’t buy a basket on the floor at any given time.