“Knicks vs. Heat: Old Rivals Meet Again in Conference Semifinals”

Game 1 of the series will take place on Sunday at 7 p.m. German time.

Knicks vs. Heat: The starting position

Yeah, is it the nineties again? Between 1997 and 2000, these two teams met four times in a row (three times New York prevailed), this time a lot of money would have been won by predicting this matchup in the conference semifinals. At least the Knicks had expected some and the team of head coach Tom Thibodeau showed five quite convincing performances against Cleveland.

A Cavs team (albeit with a very limited offensive) was kept below 100 points four times. This was achieved despite the fact that New York’s all-star Julius Randle, handicapped by an ankle injury, played a very weak series by his standards. Instead, it was Jalen Brunson who shouldered the brunt and kept delivering plays at the important moments.

In addition, thanks to Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks had clear advantages on the board and the much deeper team. Josh Hart in particular played his way into the hearts of the fans with his hustle, covering the fact that Immanuel Quickley, runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year poll, barely made an appearance. There is euphoria in the Big Apple, the first participation in the conference finals in 23 years seems within reach.

NBA Playoffs – Knicks vs. Heat: The series at a glance

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Knicks vs. Heat: The starting position

But there is a hurdle to overcome, which the top favorite for the title, the Milwaukee Bucks, failed to do. The Heat became only the sixth 8-seed in history to win a playoff series, in part because Jimmy Butler shifted up a few gears as he’s done so often in the postseason. His 56 points in Game 4 was a work of art, and the forward delivered the best two-way performance of the playoffs of the entire series.

The numbers for the regular season can be kicked into the bin, so to speak. For 82 games, the Heat didn’t hit a barn door, suddenly everything went against the Bucks. Role-playing players like Gabe Vincent and Max Strus looked like the players from last year when it was only Game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

This is also necessary as the Heat lost Tyler Herro (fractured hand) and also Victor Oladipo (knee injury) in this series. Both will not be able to intervene against the Knicks. The big surprise for the Heat, on the other hand, was Kevin Love, who was suddenly found to be up again. Exciting: Jener Love sank eight threes for Cleveland against the Knicks early in the season, something the Cavs could have used in the first round.

NBA Playoffs – Knicks vs. Heat: numbers and facts

NBA Playoffs 2023: The Keys for the Knicks

• The Knicks already had a top-five offense in the regular season, although they hit very poorly from the field and didn’t have the best spacing at all. Thanks to a lot of free throws and tons of offensive rebounds, the Knicks made up for it – like against Cleveland. Almost 40 percent (league average: 27 percent) of all rebounds were absorbed by the Knicks, so the Knicks won the possession game. However, Miami is much better positioned with Bam Adebayo, Love or Butler, even if the Heat are more of a small team. Robinson’s work on the boards will again be a swing factor of this series.
• New York will also need production from Randle this time around. A 110 offensive rating might not be enough against the Heat if they continue to be hot from a distance. However, Randle twisted his ankle again in Game 5 and only hit 34 percent from the field over the five games. This needs to get better as New York’s offense tends to falter when Randle gets too busy. If it doesn’t hit, that’s a problem. Ditto on the other side of the field, where Randle was the target for the Cavs. So Thibs even took his All-Star out of the game in Game 4, which was ultimately the right decision. This personality is explosive and it would be desirable for the Knicks if this topic were not an issue in this series.

NBA: The New York Knicks roster

NBA Playoffs 2023: The Keys to the Heat

• The Knicks’ bench was considered one of the best in the league throughout the season, and it proved that against the Cavs. However: Miami does not have to hide in this respect. For all Butler’s brilliance, the bench players – despite the injuries to Herro and Oladipo – were also key. Caleb Martin currently has the best plus-minus of all players (+54) after Al Horford. Kyle Lowry looked surprisingly fresh, Duncan Robinson seems to have found his threesome again. If the Heat survive the minutes without a butler with some degree of damage, that’s a real pound.
• And in the end, Jimmy Buckets will carry the burden again. Both the Knicks and Miami play quite slowly, increasing the likelihood that games will be close. That would be to the liking of the Heat, who are absolute crunch time experts this season and thus pulled the bucket out on the Bucks. The fact that the Knicks don’t have an adequate defender for Butler also speaks for the Heat. While Josh Hart can be toxic and physical, the Heat Superstar is taller and actively seeks out.

NBA: The Miami Heat roster

NBA Playoffs – Knicks vs. Heat: Who will win the series?

It should be a damn tight series with a lot of tight games. The FiveThirtyEight site sees the odds as 50-50 and that feels right. Miami has the best player in the series in Butler, while the Knicks shine with their balance. In the regular season, all games were decided with a maximum of 9 points, twice it was exciting until the buzzer.

Little things will decide the series, possibly also the duel on the sidelines. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has more experience here and a better reputation than Tom Thibodeau. Coupled with a butler in top form, that could make all the difference for Miami. The Heat would become only the second team in playoff history to survive more than one round as an 8-seed. Forecast: Heat in 6.