5 Biggest Knicks questions ahead of rivalry rematch against Heat

After a surprisingly brief yet extremely satisfying opening round, the New York Knicks are advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2013. New York is going from being the underdog in their matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers to the team with homecourt advantage facing the Miami Heat.

Fans are excited about this matchup for many reasons. Obviously, the Knicks faithful are encouraged by the dominance the team displayed against Cleveland and think they can keep that momentum going. There is a nostalgia factor at play since some of New York’s most recent and successful playoff runs came against Miami in the 1990s at the height of their historic rivalry. And to some, this series is seen as an easier one to handle because Miami is the No. 8 seed while New York is the No. 5 seed.

However, New York shouldn’t take this matchup lightly, as the Heat did have to defeat the East’s No. 1 seed to get here. No playoff series is truly easy, and this series should be no different.

5 biggest questions ahead of Knicks-Heat second-round playoff series

If they are to win another round, many changes and challenges will need to be made and addressed, while some of their positive patterns will need to be maintained and perfected. In no particular order, here are the five biggest questions for New York as they countdown toward their date with Miami.

How will Julius Randle impact the series?

Julius Randle was slow to impact the series versus the Cavaliers from a scoring standpoint. On one hand, it was understandable since he was coming off of a sprained ankle. On the other, it was very concerning to see him shoot so poorly in several games for the second time in his Knicks playoff career.

Thankfully, Randle was getting the job done in other areas with some smart and decisive passing along with some stand-up defense. Then, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived in Game 5. Randle was bodying his way to the rim at will against the Cavs D, scoring 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field while making five of his six free throw attempts in the first half.

But, just before the halftime buzzer, Randle hurt the same ankle on a close-out and exited the game. The Knicks got the win and won the series, but now New York will have to hold their breath again going into a playoff Game 1 unsure if their two-time All-Star will take the court. Right now, New York is hopeful that Randle will be back for the first contest against Miami. However, if Randle misses any time this series, his absence may be the biggest impact he has on the final outcome.

But how about when Randle does return; how will he impact the series with his play? Well, Miami’s zone defense (more on that later) may be well-equipped for Randle’s game. We have seen Randle struggle in the past when he is surrounded and forced to give up the ball or take difficult shots without turning it over in the process. Granted, Randle seemed to figure it out in Game 5 before his injury against arguably the best defensive team in the playoffs.

At the very least, expect Randle to again be a positive on defense (if he played well against Evan Mobley, then he can definitely handle Kevin Love) as both an isolation and help defender. Randle should also be a valuable playmaker alongside Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, who have each moved the ball nicely in the playoffs. As for his offense, it remains to be seen how helpful or hurtful Randle will be and if his ankle will be to blame.

Can RJ Barrett keep it up?

In Game 1 versus Cleveland, RJ Barrett played some excellent defense (four steals) and made many nice dishes (six assists), but he couldn’t hit his shots. In Game 2, he improved his shooting but only to a slightly less ugly degree. Meanwhile, his defense was solid, but his playmaking disappeared. With the series tied at 1-1, Barrett needed to step up if the Knicks were to have any chance at winning.

Wouldn’t you know it, Barrett went on to have three great scoring performances in a row against a very tough Cavaliers defense. More specifically, Barrett did what he does best by getting to the rim at will despite Cleveland deploying two of the league’s premiere rim protectors. He even started making threes!

In Games 3-5, Barrett averaged 22 points, 2.6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 55.8% from the field. That’s a very good stat line to pair with Jalen Brunson’s heroic numbers. With Barrett coming off of a hot finish to the series against Cleveland, can he keep it going against Miami?

In my opinion, Barrett should have no issue playing at the same level, if not at a higher level. The Heat play strong defense, but they lack the number of defensively talented individuals that the Cavaliers have. Bam Adebayo is also the only player that can protect the rim for them, so Barrett can continue to attack the rim with good results with properly timed and targeted drives. Barrett also shouldn’t have to worry about seeing Jimmy Butler guarding him very much, as he will likely have to concentrate on stopping Brunson.

If Barrett keeps it up, the Knicks will once again be in a fantastic position to win and advance.

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.

Does Quentin Grimes bounce back?

To end the regular season, Quentin Grimes was on an absolute tear shooting the ball. In the last 10 games, Grimes averaged 20 points on 54.6% shooting from the field and an absurd 48.4% from three.

Unfortunately, that hot stretch didn’t translate to the playoffs. In the three games Grimes appeared in prior to exiting the series with a shoulder contusion, he averaged just 3.7 PPG on horrendous shooting splits of 18.2% and 11.1% from the field and from three respectively.

To be fair to Grimes, he is a sophomore experiencing the first playoff basketball of his career. But, the Knicks will of course be hurting if he plays that poorly, and such performance would likely cause his playing time to diminish. The majority of Grimes’ shots were wide open as well, so there isn’t much excuse to shoot that badly as a player of his caliber.

Grimes will be back in the rotation from the start of the series with Miami, so can he bounce back? It all depends on how much Grimes allows the pressure of the moment to get to him. If he needs a boost of confidence, then he should look to his season stats against Miami.

This season, the Heat allowed Grimes to average 16.3 PPG, a FG% of 55, and a 3PT% of 50. Also, Grimes will likely be behind several Knicks in the scoring option pecking order and when it comes to shot opportunities in general. He isn’t under a ton of pressure to make a significant impact on offense, but regardless of if that can calm any jitters he has he must cash in on the open looks he does receive.

Can the Knicks contain Playoff Jimmy?

Jimmy Butler, AKA Jimmy “G” Buckets (the G stands for Gets), is one of the truly elite players that the NBA has to offer. It is hard enough to slow him down during the regular season, and it’s even harder to slow down “Playoff Jimmy.”

Playoff Jimmy is Butler’s postseason alter ego, the most dangerous version of the perennial All-Star. The Milwaukee Bucks were the latest team to be acquainted with Playoff Jimmy, as they fell to the Miami Heat in just five games. Yes, the Bucks were missing their All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo for some of those games, but Butler was clearly going to be virtually unstoppable either way.

Butler scored 14 of his team’s final 19 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5, capping off the late-game comeback that forced the game into overtime. He scored the last two points of his 42-point performance in OT to end the series. And in Game 4, Butler was even more extraordinary by dominating the final frame in comeback fashion once again and finishing with 56 points.

Clearly, Butler is going to get his buckets, as he did pretty easily against one of the best defenses in basketball. However, that doesn’t mean that the Knicks don’t have a shot at containing him to some extent. For all intents and purposes, Butler is by far the biggest scoring threat for Miami. It will be simpler to form a game plan against Miami to some degree than it was against Cleveland, who had both Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland as major offensive weapons.

New York should be pretty confident that they can neutralize Butler enough while also daring other Heat players to put points on the board. The Knicks are first in defensive rating (101.3) for the playoffs so far, which stands as a testament to how Mitchell and Garland both struggled to score throughout the series. New York’s rim protection in particular has been outstanding, and getting to the paint and the rim is Butler’s bread and butter.

Lastly, there is this fun matchup tidbit:

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