An analysis of Wednesday night’s Miami Heat-New York Knicks
NEW YORK – Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 112-103 NBA playoff loss to the New York Knicks:
– Yes, two chances remain to close this out.
– But for the Heat, it feels like one.
– Because for as tepid as the atmosphere was at Madison Square Garden to start this one, it would be the polar opposite for a Monday Game 7.
– No, not quite all or nothing for the Heat on Friday night at Kaseya Center in Game 6.
– But with the two-day break to follow, imagine marinating on 3-1 having gone to 3-3.
– With any semblance of 3-point shooting early, the Heat could have put this away Wednesday.
– With the hope now that it comes around on their home court.
– While the 10-man rotation was back Wednesday for the Heat, it will be interesting to see how coach Erik Spoelstra plays it Friday.
– And whether he plays it as a must win.
– Especially with those two days off to follow.
– Sort of like the Knicks did on Wednesday night the way they leaned into Jalen Brunson’s minutes.
– And, along the way, the Heat allowed for a Julius Randle revival.
– With Emmanuel Quickley now possibly returning to the mix from his ankle sprain.
– So desperation next for the Heat?
– Or simply Jimmy Butler deciding enough is enough.
– The Heat remained with their starting lineup of Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love, Butler, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.
– The Knicks again started Quentin Grimes ahead of Josh Hart. The other New York starters remained Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett and Brunson.
– Quickley (ankle) and Evan Fournier (illness) were not available for the Knicks.
– Tyler Herro (hand) and Victor Oladipo (knee) were not available for the Heat.
– Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Cody Zeller entered together in the Heat’s first substitution.
– Duncan Robinson then followed for nine deep.
– With Haywood Highsmith at the start of the second period again making it 10 deep.
– This time 10 deep looked like too much.
– With the Knicks wising up and constantly hunting Robinson defensively.
– To put the Knicks’ desperation into perspective, Brunson and Grimes both played the entire first half.
– There was a timeout 65 seconds in when Randle went down after taking an inadvertent blow to the face from Adebayo on a rebounding scramble, with no call on the play.
– At one point in the first period, the Knicks were called for offensive fouls on three consecutive possessions.
– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his messaging was clear and straightforward going in.
– “You have to remain present and just focus on each possession,” he said.
– Of talk of his defensive contributions, Adebayo said at the morning shootaround, “I feel like it doesn’t really get noticed until the playoffs. That’s when people really start to see who I am, what I can do, and how special I am.”
– Adebayo said his playoff experience let him know what Wednesday might be like.
– “Since I’ve been on these playoff runs, the last one is the hardest one to get,” he said.
– Among those in the crowd were the Jonas Brothers.
