NBA Playoff 2022/23, on Tuesday, 09.05.2023
In the 2022/23 NBA Playoffs, the next surprise is brewing in the duel between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, as I have legitimate reason to believe that MIA will go up 3-1 tonight.
If my Heat Knicks tip works out, the Knickerbockers would have an extremely hard time turning this series around. But what’s coming from their stars right now is too little to seriously trouble the heart and soul of the Floridians.
He’s back and picking up right where he left off! We’re talking about Jimmy Butler, of course, who missed Game 2 against the Knicks but helped his team win again in the following duel.
The Heat thus won the opening game 108-101, the New Yorkers then equalized, only to be held at bay again by the Jimmy Butler Express – who scored 36 points alone – 105-86 on the weekend.
In my Heat Knicks tip, meanwhile, I’ll share some impressions from the last meeting that make me particularly confident that Miami will be able to provide a small preliminary decision tonight.
The Knicks looked bereft of ideas on Sunday, hitting just 34% from the field, with their two stars in particular – Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle – never really coming into their own against the Heat’s extremely toxic defenders.
NYK’s German pro Hartenstein, meanwhile, not only failed to score, but didn’t even attempt a shot. Only eight converted three-pointers were not enough to really put Miami in trouble.
The failure of the New Yorkers is thus a mixture of several reasons! But even if some Knickerbockers reached normal form, it was the excellent defensive work of the Heat that overshadowed everything and everyone on this night!
An old soccer adage says that you only play as well as your opponent allows you to. This is also the keyword to summarize Game 3 in a few words.
Because there was no sign of ankle problems with Jimmy Butler and even against the lax double-team attempts of the New Yorkers, the Heat star got rid of his throws in an impressive manner.
On the other side Brunson was covered so tightly by Gabe Vincent that he had to fight hard for every single one of his 20 points despite an actually good performance.
Looking at the playoffs, it’s hard to believe that Miami finished the regular season with a record of just 44-38.
A closer look at the Game 3 data also provides further reason to believe that Miami will prevail.
For both teams were extremely weak from beyond the arc, but on the board, the Floridians work much better.
Tonight should be no different, as they can field a true colossus in that area of the court in Bam Adebayo, who was already able to put a stop to NYK on Sunday.
Miami, by the way, can only boast a sub-par 38.9% scoring rate from the field themselves, but with a 50-36 preponderance in terms of points from the paint, they at least dominated the action at the board.
That will also be the crux of Game 4, as MIA defends better and has the invigorating element in Jimmy Butler that the Knickerbockers just can’t seem to get under control.
The sportsbook apps of many bookmakers, meanwhile, stand out for coming to a very similar assessment when it comes to their Heat Knicks betting odds.
That’s because almost all bookmakers can perceive MIA win odds of around 1.55 on PC or mobile, while New York’s, on the other hand, has been placed at a level of around 2.50.
Conclusion: It is by no means that I would rank Miami among the title favorites. However, their excellent defensive work, as well as a stunning Jimmy Butler, are making sure that the Floridians are getting more and more comfortable in this Series.
For the New Yorkers, virtually nothing was right at the back or up front this weekend. Brunson had a decent game, but the rest of the team didn’t play well enough.
Especially Julius Randle, who has only recently returned, made an extremely weak game.
With their own crowd behind them and momentum on their side, MIA can do no wrong tonight.
My Heat Knicks tip: Home side win.
