5 Biggest Knicks questions ahead of rivalry rematch against Heat

How will the matchup with Miami be different than it was with Cleveland?

In some ways, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat are similar teams. Both teams have multiple All-Stars, two of whom are consensus top 15 players in the league for their respective franchises. Each team has at least one elite defensive big man. Additionally, both of these squads lack depth but have strong starting lineups.

Being that the New York Knicks were able to make quick work of the Cavaliers, it is to the Knicks’ advantage that they will be facing a similar opponent. It won’t be that simple, but New York handled Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen effectively while easily outplaying Cleveland’s lackluster bench. Therefore, facing Butler, Adebayo, and their supporting cast (minus Tyler Herro) in theory should be less difficult.

However, Miami doesn’t exactly play like Cleveland on either side of the ball. Like the Knicks, the Cavaliers really struggled shooting behind the perimeter in round one. Miami, though, shot fantastic from deep, making 45% of their 34.2 three-point attempts. Such a high level of shot-making is unlikely to continue, especially for a Heat team that typically is a poor three-point shooting team. Nevertheless, New York needs to be mindful of how hot the Heat are right now and take away open looks from deep.

Lastly, Miami plays primarily a zone defense. The Knicks did see Cleveland play zone at times, but not to this extent. Still, Cleveland’s defense did provide a ton of pressure that New York was able to overcome. The Heat’s perimeter defenders are better than what the Cavs threw at New York, but the Knicks have the offensive talent capable of overcoming another pestering opponent.