With the Knicks ahead of the Bucks one and a half games for the final playoff spot in the East, confidently declare your allegiance for the Knicks with the State Farm Nation, now live on Facebook to root the red-hot team on as they look to solidify their playoff destiny!

The “State of Fandom” allows you to have customized Facebook cover photos, have friends or foes with fans of the Knicks, or other teams in the NBA that you just love to hate.

You can also generate your NBA fan graph to see where your Facebook friends’ loyalties lie, and hopefully cheer them on as they continue their winning ways at the Garden as they host the Bucks on Monday night!

Free-agent shooting guard J.R. Smith tweeted Friday that he has decided to join the New York Knicks.

“New York Knicks It Is!” he posted on his Twitter account.

No contract terms were available, but the Knicks were able to offer Smith a pro-rated share of their $2.5 million mini mid-level exception and a player option for a second year.

Smith was due to fly back to the United States from China late Wednesday night.

The New York Post reported that Smith will join the team Friday night at the Garden but will make his on-court debut Sunday against the Mavericks.

Smith is a former teammate of Carmelo Anthony’s in Denver. He averaged 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 2010-11, shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. He has averaged 12.5 points per game during his seven-year career.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound sharpshooter was drafted 18th overall by New Orleans out of high school in the 2004 NBA draft.

According to Frank Isola from the New York Daily News, the Knicks are closing in on a deal to sign free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith, the Daily News has learned. Smith began the season in China, but has been eyeing a return to the NBA once the lockout ended.

Smith’s agent, Leon Rose, met with Garden Chairman James Dolan following Wednesday’s Knicks’ win over Sacramento to finalize a contract. It is believed that Smith, who has also attracted the interest of the Clippers, will receive the Knicks’ $2.5 million exception.

Complimentary of “The Diss” — an NBA Blog spot:

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View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

Jeremy Lin jerseys and merchandise arrived to immediate and high demand at a Modell’s store in New York City Wednesday evening. Modell’s CEO Mitch Modell said he has never seen a player storm the city the way Lin has.

Our friends at Fanatics have a great selection of Jeremy Lin Jerseys and T-Shirts:

On the wall in New York Knicks general manger Glen Grunwald’s office is a greaseboard.

During this season’s crazy free-agent period, the names of players put on waivers were listed on the board.

Grunwald and Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni often met to discuss the players’ worthiness.

On Dec. 24, point guard Jeremy Lin appeared on Grunwald’s greaseboard after he was cut by the Houston Rockets — who released the Harvard sensation after signing center Samuel Dalembert.

D’Antoni and Grunwald revisited Lin’s impressive pre-draft workout in Greenburgh on June 7, 2010, his penetration ability and knack for the pick-’n-roll.

Grunwald had recommended bringing Lin in for training camp last season and earlier in December, but Golden State and Houston had gotten in the way.

“I remember Glen saying after Lin got waived, ‘He can run the pick and roll and be a playmaker better than anybody we had,’ ’’ D’Antoni recalled.

But the Knicks had enough point guards on the roster by then. In the season opener on Christmas Day, rookie Iman Shumpert sprained his knee and went out for at least two weeks.

The decision was made the next day when Grunwald told D’Antoni this was the Knicks’ chance to claim Lin — at least as a stopgap because his $788,000 contract wasn’t guaranteed. After 16 teams passed in waivers, Grunwald pounced on the opportunity.

“Lin and [Steve] Novak, they were both Glen’s calls,’’ said a person familiar with Grunwald’s daily waiver talks with D’Antoni.

The rest is Lin-story.

The New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week — for games played Monday Feb. 6 through Sunday Feb. 12.

Lin led the Knicks to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals. His 109 points over his first four career starts are the most by any player since 1976-77, and he became the first player in NBA history to tally at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts. Lin scored a career-high 38 points on Feb. 10, in a 92-85 win over the Lakers.