The New York Knicks were forced to play with a weakened Tyson Chandler in the opening game of their best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat over the weekend. The defensive centerpiece is expected to be back to his usual self on Monday night, however, provided there aren't any setbacks between now and then.

Chandler's suffered from what sounds like a terrible case of the flu, but Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears reports that the big man seems to be feeling better heading into the new week.

Source tells Y! Sports @nyknicks C Tyson Chandler's "fever is down and he is feeling much, much better" & will play in Game 2 vs @MiamiHEAT.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 30, 2012

In the Knicks' opening-game loss, Chandler turned the ball over seven times in 21 minutes as the Heat cruised to a 33-point victory. If Chandler's indeed healthy for Monday night's game, the tides may change -- or, at the very least, it'll likely be much more difficult for the Heat to score inside.

For more on the Knicks, visit Posting And Toasting and SB Nation New York. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier.