East rivals meet in an exciting clash as the New York Knicks travel to South Beach with a chance to score a 3-0, regular season series sweep.
Catch the game tomorrow at 7:00 AM, Manila time.
AWAY: New York Knicks (44-30, 20-16 AWAY)
Projected starting five:
- Jalen Brunson
- Donte DiVincenzo
- Josh Hart
- Precious Achiuwa
- Mitchell Robinson / Isiah Hartenstein
The Knicks lost a nail-biter to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, 113-112, and have now dropped back-to-back games. Still, they are a respectable 3-3 in their last six, and a solid 7-3 in their last 10.
While the Knicks are 2-0 vs. the Heat this season (100-98 last Nov 25th, 125-109 last Jan 28th), though, the group that won those two games are very different from the current rotation. Julius Randle and OG Anunoby are still out with injuries, and guys like Donte DiVincenzo and Miles McBride now have wider roles. There’s new guys too, most notably Bojan Bogdanovic.
What’s good is that leading scorer Jalen Brunson (27.9 PPG, 6.5 APG) is available, and should be ready to continue piling up points and dimes. DiVincenzo, who’s at 21.1 points and 4.7 threes per game in his last 27 games, will remain as a viable second option. Hart and McBride are playing well, especially as of late, and should contribute nicely again.
HOME: Miami Heat (41-33, 19-16 HOME)
Projected starting five:
- Terry Rozier
- Duncan Robinson
- Jimmy Butler (day-to-day)
- Caleb Martin
- Bam Adebayo
The Heat are winners of two-consecutive games, one of which was a 142-82 massacre of the Portland Trail Blazers. They are also 6-3 across their last nine games, scoring 108.0 points and allowing just 99.4 in that stretch.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo remain as the Heat’s hustle and heart, a strong 1-2 punch that plays solidly on both ends. Sweet-shooting Tyler Herro is unfortunately out, but Miami has reloaded on offensively sound players, namely Terry Rozier. The former Hornet and Celtic has 19.3 PPG and 3.3 threes (44.2 3FG%) in his last seven games.
As always, there’s a bevy of other Heat players that could explode at any given day – Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and Haywood Highsmith, just to name a few. Robinson actually posted 19 points with five treys off-the-bench in their Jan 28th meeting vs. NYK.
Miami is in a tough battle against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers for the 6th playoff spot in the East. We should see that urgency on the floor tomorrow.
PICKS:
Spread: Knicks (+2.5)
Over/Under: Over (205)
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