How Knicks can pull off playoff miracle vs. Heat

NBA

By Zach Braziller

May 9, 2023 | 7:37pm

Wednesday night at the Garden could be the end of the Knicks’ season or it could be the start of a miraculous comeback.

They find themselves in an extremely difficult spot, trailing the Heat 3-1 in this Eastern Conference semifinal, best-of-seven series.

Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team has been thoroughly outplayed through four games, outclassed and outworked by Miami.

But it is not done yet. It can start the long climb back with a win at home in Game 5.

“Get one, and then after we get one, just get one. Get that one, just get one [more],” Josh Hart said. “We can’t look at it as down 3-1. We can’t look at it as we need three wins. We got to look at it as we need to win one. We have to win every possession, every quarter. We can’t have any slipups. We have to have attention to detail.”

Here are four keys for the Knicks to pull off a miracle:

Robinson has to find his game

Mitchell Robinson was arguably the MVP of the five-game series win over the Cavaliers, owning the paint and the glass.

But he has had the opposite effect against the Heat. He’s been impact-less, repeatedly outplayed by counterpart Bam Adebayo.

Robinson has 16 offensive rebounds in this series. He had 11 in the last game against the Cavaliers.

After the Game 4 loss, Robinson sounded motivated to do better, not resigned to this season coming to an end Wednesday night.

“I got to figure it out. I got to have more energy, more urgency, try to get the job done,” he said.

Perhaps most worrisome is the lack of rim protection from Robinson.

The Heat have hurt the Knicks in the paint, averaging 53 points in the two games in Miami, which has in part created wide-open looks from 3-point range.

Robinson’s defensive rating of 115.1 (points the opposition scores per 100 possessions) is the second-worst on the team, ahead of only RJ Barrett.

This series won’t change unless Robinson rediscovers his opening-round form.

Flip the bench results

The Knicks’ second unit has been the far weaker one in this series, outscored by an average of 13.5 points by the Heat’s reserves. Kyle Lowry has been instrumental.

Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin have hurt the Knicks, too.

They need to get the bench going, even if it doesn’t include Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley, who is listed as doubtful for Game 5 with a sprained left ankle.

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The potential is still there.

Hart is bound to rebound after his struggles in Game 4, his first time this series coming off the bench after Thibodeau reinserted Quentin Grimes into the starting lineup.

Isaiah Hartenstein, Obi Toppin and Miles McBride are all capable.

Maybe Thibodeau even goes to one of his veterans, Derrick Rose or Evan Fournier.

The Knicks need much more from these players than they are getting.

Maybe Toppin, after not getting off the bench in the second half on Monday, will be extra motivated.

Stars have to be stars

Nothing else matters if Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson aren’t at their best, starting Wednesday and continuing through the rest of the series.

Brunson, despite a right ankle issue that is clearly limiting him, poured in 32 points along with 11 assists and just one assist in the Game 4 loss.

You can’t expect anything more than that.

Randle’s overall numbers were strong — 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists — but his effort on the defensive end was inconsistent.

His 10 turnovers in the last two games can’t continue.

Now, it should be noted that Randle is the lone Knick in this series with a positive NET rating of plus-2.1, meaning the Knicks are actually outscoring the Heat when he’s on the floor per 100 possessions.

He can still change his unflattering playoff narrative.

Find the range from deep

The Knicks are the worst team in the postseason from 3-point range, shooting just 28.2 percent on 32.3 attempts per game.

Both are lower than their regular-season numbers, when they shot 35.4 percent on 35.7 attempts.

Barrett is the Knicks’ best 3-point shooter this postseason, at 34 percent.

While defense is ratcheted up in the playoffs, and numbers typically drop, it has been stark for the Knicks.

Barrett is the team’s only player on the roster who has not seen his perimeter shooting fall off.

Brunson is at only 28.6 percent after shooting the 3 at a 41.6 percent clip during the regular season while Randle is at 23.1 percent after making 34.3 percent of his attempts.

The Knicks could use some friendly bounces.