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The New York Knicks enter play on Tuesday with a 44-30 record. With only eight games remaining, New York is clinging to a half-game lead for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are still dealing with the injury bug. While securing the fourth seed or jumping to the third seed is obviously important, there are other goals at play for Tuesday's game against the Miami Heat.
As both teams do their best to position themselves for a deep playoff run, this rivalry game is especially important. Heat center Bam Adebayo may have said it best.
“Both team’s got something to lose,” Adebayo recently told the media about Tuesday's showdown. “There’s going to be a little more edge.”
Knicks remaining healthy is the first priority
Playing the Heat has resulted in injuries too often for the Knicks. Most notably, All-Star Julius Randle dislocated his shoulder in Miami on Jan. 27 when Jaime Jaquez Jr. attempted to draw a charge on Randle’s transition layup. The play wasn’t overtly dirty, but it’s indicative of the Heat’s style of play. The play also summarizes coach Tom Thibodeau’s preference of relying too heavily on his stars, as the Knicks were up by 17 points with about 4:30 remaining in the game at the time of the play.
But it’s not just that play. Adebayo single-handedly hurt numerous Knicks players in last season’s second-round matchup alone, including Randle, Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, and Quentin Grimes. Granted, some of those interactions can be written off as basketball plays, but some look a tad more deceitful.
Bam Adebayo injuring every single Knick highlights pic.twitter.com/Y1IF1E7lyU
— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) May 11, 2023
Given New York’s existing health issues, they should take extra care to avoid any additional injures — especially when working around Adebayo screens.
Keeping the Heat in the play-in tournament
This one requires New York to play their best basketball, which admittedly conflicts a bit with the previous suggestion. Still, it’s important in its own right. The idea of Miami lifting itself out of the play-in tournament is scary, especially given how tight the East’s playoff race is at the moment.
The Heat are presently the seventh seed (41-33) and in the play-in tournament, but they are only one game behind the Indiana Pacers for the sixth seed. Keeping Miami in the play-in isn’t entirely the Knicks’ responsibility, however, it could benefit them just the same.
Any review of the Knicks’ 2023-24 performance against Miami is wasteful, as the Heat have dealt with injuries for much of the regular season (as have the Knicks). Further, Miami — more than any other team — switches gears in April and into the playoffs. So, looking back against the Heat is a waste of time and energy — although Tuesday's matchup should offer a more accurate preview of what Miami will look like come the playoffs.
There is legitimately bad blood between Miami and New York, and keeping them exactly where they are in the standings is vital. Granted, the Heat reached the 2023 NBA Finals from the play-in tournament, a path that also saw Miami eliminate the Knicks. But doing so requires a great deal of focus, talent, and luck — and it’s even more difficult to do so in consecutive years.
At the end of the day, New York has to worry about its own path to and seeding in the playoffs. But a win helps on all fronts. And doing so without suffering anymore injuries is of the upmost importance.
