Anyone who had the No. 8 seed Miami Heat with the No. 5 seed New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs in their bracket should go buy a lottery ticket.
seriously.
The Knicks and Heat both entered their first-round matches as underdogs, but needed only five games to get past their opponents. New York beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road Wednesday night, and Miami followed suit with a win over the No. 1-ranked Milwaukee Bucks.
Jimmy Butler was the biggest star in the first round, holding downed Heat’s Victor Oladipo (torn patellar tendon) and Tyler Hero (broken hand).
The Knicks have a major injury concern, superstar Julius Randle re-injured his ankle in Game 5 against Cleveland.
Early reports suggest the injury isn’t as bad as Randle’s first ankle sprain, which actually came against this Heat team, but it’s a tough transition for him to be ready for the first game on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
If Randle can’t go, Obi Tobin will likely be slipped into the Knicks starting lineup. New York is also hoping shooting guard Quentin Grimes, who missed Games 4 and 5 against Cleveland with a shoulder injury, can play in Game 1.
During the regular season, New York has won three of the four meetings between these teams. However, the Heat found different equipment against Miami, especially with Butler taking over as MVP.
This series is expected to be close, but who will win it? I have the latest odds and prediction for the Knicks Heat game below:
Odds for the Heat vs. Knicks Series
Hit vs Knicks Correct Score (Exact Score Odds)
Heat vs knicks schedule
Game 1: Heat @ Knicks, Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. ET, TBA TV
Match 2: Heat @ Knicks, Tuesday, May 2, Time TBA, TBA TV Channel
Match 3: Knicks @ Heat, Saturday, May 6, Time TBA, TBA TV Channel
Game 4: Knicks @ Heat, Monday, May 8, FUCK TIME, TBA TV Channel
* Game 5: Heat @ Knicks, Wednesday, May 10, Time TBA, TBA TV Channel
* Game Six: Knicks @ Heat, Friday, May 12, Time TBA, TBA TV Channel
* Game 7: Heat @ Knicks, Monday, May 15, Time TBA, TBA TV
Heat vs Knicks series prediction and selection
It’s easy to say that Randall’s health is key to the Knicks, but in this case it really is.
Let me explain.
The Heat played Bam Adebayo on Randle when those teams matched, leaving Kevin Love or Caleb Martin at fourth to defend Mitchell Robinson, who grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the Knicks’ Game 5 win over Cleveland.
Robinson has dominated Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen all season, and now he has a chance to dominate the glass against a younger Heat team that ranks just 18th in the league in rebounding percentage in the regular season. New York ranked second.
If Randle can’t play, Miami can at least use Adebayo to keep Robinson out of the cup.
Both teams are playing at a slow pace, so we will see more games where these rosters have to pick up wins, like the Knicks did against the Cavs.
Without Hiro, I seriously wonder how Miami found such a consistent target after Butler, especially since the Knicks looked so much better defensively in the postseason than Milwaukee did.
Butler has shown he can single-handedly win games for the Heat, and he did so earlier this season in a win over the Knicks.
However, the Knicks have an indoor court and are a deeper team. If Grimes and Randle are able to suit up, the team has more bodies they can throw at Butler to force someone else to defeat them.
I didn’t even mention Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, who were elite ball-scoring elites in the Cleveland Series.
This series returns to Butler vs. Knicks Depth. I think New York has the slight edge and wins in seven.
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The game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.