NBA: Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The big matchup in the East Conference, between the old and bitter rivals, the Miami Heat, and the New York Knicks, takes place on Friday night. The two sides are entering this clash in completely opposite moods, with the Heat sitting atop of the East, while on the other side, the Knicks aren’t even in the play-in zone. NYK’s fans are already starting to turn their back on the team, but that is nothing new in the Big Apple, to be completely honest with you.

Preview

Miami Heat (38-21, -190) have six wins in the past seven games, and five of those victories were on the road, which significantly boosts the morale of the Heat players before this event. The most recent contest was in Charlotte against the Hornets, and Miami won 111-107 after two overtimes.

They managed to get back following a deficit and limit the hosts to only 16 points in the final period, and after that score 20 in the overtimes. As usual, Erik Spoelstra had certain trouble with injured players, but the majority of big names were available for the three-time NBA champion.

Kyle Lowry was the top scorer with 25 points, six threes, nine boards and five assists. Duncan Robinson also hit six threes, having 21 points, while three players scored 15 buckets, Adebayo, Butler and PJ Tucker. All of them posted double-doubles, having 13, 10, and 10 boards, respectively.

New York Knicks (25-34, +160) have only one win in the past eight games. It was a big upset at Chase Center in San Francisco, where they beat the Warriors, but immediately after that, NYK got back to its old habits.

Tom Thibodeau’s unit lost three straight events to the Trail Blazers on the road and against the OKC Thunder and the Nets at home. The most recent matchup was against the Nets, and that one ended 111-106 for the franchise from Brooklyn. Believe it or not, the Knicks had a 31-point lead at halftime but managed to lose this one. That tells a lot about the mindset of this unit and its mental power.

Julius Randle had 31 points with 10 boards and was the Knicks’ best player by far. Immanuel Quickley scored 18 off the bench with six boards, while Evan Fournier added 16 buckets. These three guys were the only ones with double-digit scoring output.

Head to Head Games

There was only one meeting this season between these two sides. It took place on January 26, when the Knicks lost in Miami, 110-96. That was the fourth straight win for the Heat in H2H contests. Duncan Robinson scored 25 for the hosts, while Obi Toppin had 18 for the Knicks.

Prediction

The Knicks are very bad, and we don’t mean to offend anyone, but they really aren’t a serious team. Last year’s playoff appearance was just a short and isolated spark, and we all saw how Atlanta routinely handled them. We expect to see the Heat winning in MSG without any problems and clinching another win. In short, they are a better unit than NYK, and they should prove that by covering a 4.5-point spread.

Pick: Miami -4.5