Knicks" Woodson Keeps Focus on Defending Heat's James The person with the basketball for a significant part of the Knicks" practice Thursday was not a player. Instead, it was Coach Mike Woodson, who was dribbling, pointing and explaining to his team what the best player in the N.B.A. could, and most likely would, do against them with the ball in his hands Friday night. For those moments, Woodson was impersonating LeBron James, the Miami Heat's all-everything player and last year's N.B.A. finals most valuable player. In one instance, Woodson dribbled into the lane and pointed to the corner, an area that will be occupied most likely by Ray Allen, who has made the most 3-pointers in league history and was the Heat's biggest acquisition in the off-season. "When he comes here," Woodson yelled at his players, referring to all the times that James will reach the paint, "he's going to look to pass here!" The scene was striking, given that every Knick had his eyes on Woodson, when it is usually Woodson observing his team. Woodson felt he needed to spend as much time as possible on how to defend James - on isolation plays, on drives to the basket and how the Knicks" defense should rotate to him - with Miami emerging as the Knicks" season-opening opponent. The lingering effects of Hurricane Sandy led to the postponement of what would have been the Knicks" opener Thursday night - in Brooklyn, against the Nets, in the official debut of their new intercity rivalry. Instead, the Knicks will start the season at home, against the Heat, the league's defending champions. "I think they're better," Woodson said of this season's version of the Heat, a team that dispatched the Knicks with ease in the first round of last season's playoffs. But he seemed to welcome the challenge. "Early on, it's always best to play great teams to see where you are," he said. When Woodson took the court Thursday to pretend he was James, the five players on the floor were Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Ronnie Brewer, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, the group Woodson will most likely start Friday night given that Miami's lineup is on the small side. The Heat scored 120 points in their season-opening win Tuesday over the Boston Celtics - and that was with James missing the final 11 minutes because of leg cramps. "We know what they bring," said Brewer, who is likely to start at small forward, with Anthony shifting to strong forward to take the place of the injured Amar'e Stoudemire. These are high-caliber guys that we're facing. This is going to be a good test for us. It may also serve as a test of sorts for fans with tickets to the game, which will be the first major event in New York City since Hurricane Sandy struck Monday. With the city still trying to fully restore public transit and electricity, it remains to be seen how much difficulty fans may have in getting to and from the Garden. Steve Novak, mindful of everything that has happened in and around the city this week, said he felt that people would be excited to see regular-season basketball. "I think because of the way this year is starting, I think it's going to be even more emotion because of the hurricane," Novak said. I feel like people in New York kind of need a release and the Garden is a getaway from that. You don't know what to expect, whether it's going to be a full house - which we always expect - but with the hurricane, it changes everything. No matter what, it will be great to be in the building. Marcus Camby, who will be in uniform after missing the preseason with a leg injury, said: "We were preparing for Brooklyn and the coaches had to adjust and we have to get our mind right for Miami. We know it's a big game. They are the defending champs coming into our building. Led by James, whom Woodson hopes he played to perfection Thursday.