Following an ugly Game 2 victory, the New York Knicks are heading down to South Beach for their Game 3 matchup of the Eastern Conference semifinals with the Heat. If the Knicks can manage to take Miami down in this matchup, they very well could take a stranglehold on the series and be Conference Finals bound before we know it.
However, there are still factors that remain up in the air. We don’t know if Jimmy Butler will be playing or not. We don’t know how healthy Jalen Bruson and Julius Randle are after they went all out on their ankles in Game 2. We don’t know if head coach Tom Thibodeau is ready to handle the playoff stage on the road against an annual contender.
Assuming most of these things fall in their favor, they will have a realistic opportunity to take back the series in Miami
3 things the Knicks need to take control of playoff series in Miami
3. Defensive adjustments from Tom Thibodeau
Thus far, Thibs has put together a fairly solid defensive scheme to slow down the Heat. While a lot of it has relied on the team’s lack of talent (aside from Butler and Bam Adebayo), it has worked.
If Butler ends up playing, then Thibs continuing to run his trap-style defense should work well. While Butler wasn’t bad by any means in Game 1, he was rather tame compared to the historic first-round series he had against the Bucks. In Game 1, Butler dropped 25 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists while shooting 8-16 from the field and 0-1 from deep.
This is a good game from Butler, don’t get us wrong, but you can clearly tell that the trap defense slowed him down compared to what he was doing just a week prior.
However, if Butler is going to miss Game 3, then it might be better to settle down into more of a traditional defensive scheme. While the trap defense worked in Game 2, it was a closer contest than it probably should have been.
In the first half, the Heat shot 38.5% from three on 26 attempts. However, they very quickly cooled down in the second half, hitting just seven of their 23 attempts.
While relying on the Heat to miss open threes could work, it’s rarely sustainable, especially considering how elite of a 3-point shooting team the Heat were in the first round. If they manage to stay hot for an entire game, New York could be in big trouble.
How Thibodeau handles this is very important. While continuing to run the same defense could work, the Knicks may be in a much better position if Thibs opts to change things up depending on Butler’s status.
2. A bounce-back game from Immanuel Quickley
Despite having an incredible regular season, Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley has been incredibly disappointing during the playoffs. In the seven games we’ve seen from Quickley this postseason, he’s averaged 8.6 points,1.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while shooting 35.2% from the field and 24.1% from three on 4.1 attempts.
Quickley has nearly cut his regular season production in half and the Knicks’ offense has suffered as a result. While he’s still been a good defender, especially in the first round, his almost complete lack of offense has not been enough to make up for it.
You can really tell by watching Quickley recently that his body language is much less enthusiastic than it used to be. Hopefully all is well with Quickley from a personal standpoint and he will get out of this slump soon.
A lot of Quickley’s struggles from this series in particular have been due in most part to his decision making. Most importantly, his shot selection has been less than ideal. If Quickley can slow down and let the game come to him entering Game 3, he very well could explode back onto the scene and play a pivotal role for the Knicks.
1. Julius Randle to be atop his game
Aside from Game 1 against the Cavaliers and Game 2 against the Heat, Julius Randle has really struggled in the playoffs throughout his career. However, there may not be a matchup better for him to exploit than what the Heat have thrown at him thus far.
In Game 2, Bam Adebayo was the primary defender of Randle when the two were on the floor. While Adebayo did a solid enough job of guarding Randle, having a center defend a perimeter player really opens up the floor and is something Randle took advantage of as he dished out eight assists.
This is what the Knicks need out of Randle the most. He may not have a genuinely great scoring game this series due to having an elite defender on him, but at the very least he must exploit whatever matchup is thrown at him.
We all know what Randle is capable of as a playmaker. While he hasn’t needed to show it off this season due to the addition of Jalen Brunson, he must take this advantage of this ability against the Heat. Having a floor-spacing power forward who can also be a game-changer isn’t exactly common and is something opposing teams have problems adjusting to.
If Randle can slow things down offensively and make the correct play consistently, then the Knicks could very well dominate Game 3 regardless if Butler is playing or not.
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