W2W4: New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat April 2

Anthony Gruppuso/US PRESSWIRE

Tuesday, April 2^nd, 2013

Pre-Game News and Notes

New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat

The Knicks and Heat will face off for the fourth and final time this season as two of the hottest teams in the NBA.  The Heat have won 29 of their last 30 games and the Knicks currently hold the longest winning streak in the NBA at eight games.  The Heat look to be content as they have a huge lead in the Eastern Conference and beat the Spurs Sunday to lengthen their lead for home court throughout the playoffs, but the Knicks still have something to play for as second place in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division are not yet wrapped up.  Here are some things to watch for tonight.

-Not the Matchups We Expected

With the Heat virtually locking up home court and gearing up for the playoffs, they rested some players Sunday against the Spurs and will do that again tonight against the Knicks.  Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Mario Chalmers will all sit out tonight against the Knicks as Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is looking to get his players as much rest as possible before the playoffs start. 

For the Knicks on the injury front, Tyson Chandler will play tonight if he feels he is ready.  With so many big named players sitting out for the Heat it would not be surprising to see Chandler sit this one out as well as the Knicks should be able to handle the Heat without two of their big three without Chandler suiting up. The Knicks have gone 8-2 without Chandler in the lineup these last 10 games that he has missed.

Mike Woodson also gave some insight to more injury news regarding Kurt Thomas, as Woodson said that he does not expect Thomas to be on the court anytime soon.  That is another blow to the Knicks, as Thomas would have added some good insurance for the playoffs, but with the way Kenyon Martin has been playing he will not be missed as much.

-Big Game for Melo?

Carmelo Anthony had a strong game against another tough team in the Celtics Sunday night and will look to build off of that performance tonight against an undermanned Heat team.  Expect Anthony to explode tonight in Miami.  Without James playing, the Heat do not have a player that can compete with Anthony’s size and quickness.  The Knicks should feel Anthony early and often to build a big lead from the beginning because the Heat team taking the court tonight is not one equipped to make up a big deficit.

-Will Bench Show Up?

Even though the Heat will not be at full strength, this is still a team that beat the Spurs on Sunday afternoon and should not be taken lightly.  It will be a good test for some of the Knicks’ bench players who historically have struggled against the Heat.

Steve Novak was held scoreless in the last matchup between these two teams, but went off in the first two matchups, scoring a combined 35 points, including nine three point makes.  Novak struggled mightily against the Heat in the playoffs last year so the fact he had two strong games against them this year should give him more confidence heading into the game this season and if they eventually meet up in the playoffs.

J.R. Smith had his streak of 30 point scoring games and shooting 50 percent or better snapped against the Celtics and it would be huge to see him start it up again against the Heat.  Smith’s struggles were well publicized against the Heat in the playoffs last year and he did nothing to dispel them in the three games this season, shooting a combined 12 of 44 against them so far this season.  It will be a huge boost for the Knicks if Smith can put together an efficient performance against the Heat tonight.