The Miami Heat have completed one of the most shocking upsets in NBA history by taking down the No. 1 overall seed as a No. 8 seed in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. On Wednesday night, the Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 128-126 in an overtime thriller on the back of star Jimmy Butler. Butler had 42 points, including a sensational alley-oop finish off of an inbounds pass from Gabe Vincent to tie the game in the final seconds and send it into an extra frame. The Heat doubled the scoring by the Bucks in the fourth quarter for another incredible comeback, and now will prepare for a matchup with the New York Knicks in the second round.
The No. 5 seed Knicks are coming off of a dominating series against the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks won the series 4-1, finishing off the Cavs in Cleveland in Game 5. They were led by Jalen Brunson all series, but ultimately had an extremely well rounded effort across the roster. Josh Hart and RJ Barrett stepped up big time, while Mitchell Robinson was a monster on the offensive and defensive glass throughout the series. The Knicks will now hold the home court advantage over the Heat in the second round, however this proved an irrelevant disadvantage for Miami in their first round matchup. Looking ahead to the second round series, here are are three bold predictions for the Miami Heat against the New York Knicks in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
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*Stats via ESPN
Jimmy Butler continues to dominate for the Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler has denied the existence of “Playoff Jimmy,” but it was on full display in the upset against the Milwaukee Bucks. After an historic 56 point performance to take a 3-1 lead, he followed it up with 42 points on over 50% shooting to complete the series victory over the Bucks. He has turned his game up a level once again in the NBA Playoffs, and expect to see it continue in the second round against the Knicks. Jimmy Butler is averaging 37.6 points per game in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, and he will keep the high scoring clip throughout the next round.
The Knicks put forth a much more solid defensive display in the first round against the Cavs then the Bucks did against the Heat. They held the Cavs under 100 points in each game but one, although this will surely be tougher against a Heat team that is the highest scoring offense so far in the postseason. The Heat will be a tougher matchup for the Knicks, and Butler will prove the opponent does not matter. After dominating a Bucks defense that was one of the best in the regular season, Butler will do the same to the Knicks and emphasize that they aren't playing Cleveland anymore. In the second round against the New York Knicks, Jimmy Butler will maintain this torrid stretch and average over 35 points per game.
Heat stay hot as a whole against the New York Knicks
The aforementioned regular season Heat were a completely different team than how they have played in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The highest scoring offense in the postseason, they made a good Bucks defense look lost all series. Not to mention, they are scorching hot from beyond the arc after being one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA during the regular season. They have raised their 3-point percentage over 10 points in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, although they will now be facing a Knicks team that is playing much better defense than what the Bucks showed. However, this won't stop the Heat from maintaining their status as the best offense in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
At 124.0 points per game, the Heat are averaging 15 points more per contest than they did throughout the regular season. They are shooting 51.9% from the field, and 45% from the 3-point line. Simply put, they are a new offense, all behind the scorching play from Jimmy Butler. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a regression from them in the second round, but it would also not be a surprise to see them maintain the momentum. Expect the latter, as the Miami Heat will continue to be the best offense in the 2023 NBA Playoffs in the second round against the New York Knicks.
Heat maintain status as team of destiny
After a measly performance in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament, the Miami Heat simply did not look like contenders this year. They lost their first round matchup to the Atlanta Hawks, and almost saw their entire season collapse in an elimination game against the Chicago Bulls. A late run saw them squeak passed the Bulls, earning themselves a first round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks. No one could have expected what they did to the Bucks in the first round, let alone just get one win. Once the playoffs began, the Heat flipped a switch, and are now making history with a magical run to the second round. The fairytale will not stop there, as they will move passed the Knicks into the Eastern Conference Finals.
After being a No. 1 seed last year and earning a trip to the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, expectations were high for the Heat this season. However, they underperformed, and this season was on the brink of becoming lost. Fortunately for Miami faithful, the Heat are finally living up to expectations, and look to be playing without any sense of pressure. Their confidence will propel them past the Knicks, and they will once again find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
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