Heat vs. Knicks Game 1 Preview, Odds, Lines, Predictions, Picks (Apr 30)

This Sunday, April 30, marks the start of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. These two Atlantic Division rivals have an extremely intense rivalry, often culminating in physical altercations throughout history. Having in mind their aggressive and physical approach in this year’s playoffs, we should see plenty of fire throughout the upcoming series. The Heat have problems with injured players, but that’s how things go for them in the playoffs. On the other side, New York is in the semis after 10 years, and expectations are high. And we all know the Knicks’ fans and their pressure on the players. 

• Heat Odds +170
• Knicks Odds -210
• Spread Knicks -5.5
• Over/Under 206.5

Here is the preview for Game 6 of the West first round Grizzlies vs. Lakers.

Preview

Miami Heat (+170) comes in this series without Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo, which is a great hit for Erik Spoelstra’s crew, who constantly struggles with injuries. This team would have much better results over the past few years if it weren’t for endless problems with absent players. 

But on the upside, they have Jimmy Butler, who always turns on his playoff mode and becomes an animal that tores apart the rivals during the postseason. Jimmy B averaged 37.6 points per game against the Bucks, with him posting one 56-point performance and 42 in the closing event of the series, once he scored a bucket to force the overtime. 

He now needs Kyle Lowry more than ever, with the veteran point guard adding only 7.6 points, and only 3.2 assists. Knowing that the Knicks have excellent guards, his stats will have to be better. 

New York Knicks (-210) advanced after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, which was a surprise according to the odds. The franchise from Ohio had a home-court edge but lost two events at home. The Knicks’ defense was the difference-maker, with Thibodeau’s crew stopping the Cavs under 100 points in each of the victories.

Jalen Brunson continued his playoff run after excellent performances in last year’s appearances with the Dallas Mavericks. Brunson scored 24 points per game against the Cavs, who have one hell of a backcourt. Barrett added 17.6, while Julius Randle had subpar stats with 14.4 bucekts and 6.4 boards.

The problem for the Knicks could be his ankle injury. The big fella had issues with it already, and in the meantime, managed to aggravate the injury in Game 5 against the Cavaliers. 

Head to Head Games

The two teams have met on four occasions this year, and the current result is 3-1 for the Knicks. They won at home in early February, 106-104, then on the road, one month later, 122-120, before the Heat won in Florida on March 24. The final event was seven days later in New York, 101-92.

Predictions

The line for this event is 206.5 points, and we would go with Under here. Regardless of whether Randle plays or not, the Knicks will have the same defensive intensity, and the overall tempo will be slower with fewer possessions as Butler has plenty of iso game. We predict that one side for sure won’t reach 100 points, too. 

Pick: Under 206.5 points