Raptors vs. Knicks: A chance to make our pick even better

The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks have been closely linked over the last few years for a variety of reasons. This current iteration of the Raptors owes a lot of its success to the Knicks, both right now and beyond.

For starters, they mercifully ended Andrea Bargnani's Toronto tenure and gave us a 2016 first-round pick for him -- among other things -- to boot. And oh, by the way, that very pick is currently projected to be ninth overall in this upcoming draft, according to tankathon.com.

Thanks, guys!

Also, there was a deal sending Kyle Lowry to New York in place before he went on to become a two-time All-Star, and it was so close to happening that even Lowry himself understood it to be "done" at the time and packed his bags in anticipation of a call from his agent. Good thing that didn't happen, eh?

Thanks again!

Well, tonight the Raptors could improve their chances of getting an even higher pick in this year's draft by helping the reeling Knicks to another loss and an even worse record. That pick could either serve as a tantalizing trade asset around draft day or become a good young player to add to this strong core.

Thanks in advance!

With about a half an hour to go before tip, here are some links to get you prepared for tonight's action:

• Check out our preview of the game.
• Get prepared for the full week of action with the Weekly Rap.
• Get caught up on how the Raptors fare in our latest Power Rankings Poll.
• Learn all about just how public your Twitter account is and how to attribute all your NSFW activity to hackers with Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis.
• Listen to Kyle Lowry yack it up with J.J Redick on his latest "The Vertical" podcast.
• While we're talking about podcasts, get your questions in for the latest episode of the Headquarters (our almost-weekly pod, recording on Tuesday) via Twitter using the hashtag #TheHQ.

Now, let the conversation begin!