Matchup of the Year: The New York Knicks at the Miami Heat

       Which NBA team is currently in first place of the Eastern Conference? No, not the New York Knicks or the Chicago Bulls. Actually, the Miami Heat are leading their conference with their 26-7 record. Ever heard of them? They're the only team with three All-Stars and were the runners-up in last year's NBA Finals. No one ever thought that the Heat would be under the radar, but Jeremy Lin's rise to stardom out of nowhere has turned the national spotlight to the Big Apple. The Knicks have won nine of their eleven games with Lin as a starter and the microscope has intensified with Carmelo Anthony's return to the lineup. With the media's attention turned away from LeBron James and the Heat, Miami has quietly won nine of their ten games since Linsanity took over the country.

Courtesy of http://reddogreport.com/2012/02/thursdays-news-81/jeremy-lin-knicks-kings-2-15-12/

       The Eastern Conference matchup is a statement game for both teams. The Miami Heat have the chance to give the Knicks their third loss in the Jeremy Lin Era and prove that they deserve the hype as the league's premier team. For the Knicks, tonight's game is their biggest game of the season and Jeremy Lin's greatest test as an NBA starter. New York needs to figure out its chemistry between Lin, Melo, and Amar'e Stoudemire.  
       The first quarter was evenly-played but the Miami Heat were always a basket ahead of the Knicks. Miami showed why it is a legitimate title contender-not just because of its offense, but because of its lockdown defense. The Heat forced eight turnovers, three of which were on Lin, including a Mario Chalmers strip in the open court, which he took for an uncontested dunk. Between LeBron, Joel Anthony, and Shane Battier, the Heat blocked five shots. New York outrebounded the Heat thirteen to five but shot poorly after grabbing the offensive boards. Miami had lots of fast break opportunities but missed a handful of easy layups. The Knicks took three charges from the Heat, in a quarter in which Miami committed seven total. The Knicks gradually cut the deficit to four by the end of the quarter after rotating bench players Steve Novak, who hit a big three, and Baron Davis.
       New York came out strong in the second quarter with a 12-4 run, including two more threes from Novak. Amar'e Stoudemire and Chris Bosh came out hot in the new quarter. Bosh hit a pair of baseline jumpers for the Heat while Amar'e had a monstrous block on D-Wade, followed up by a statement dunk after blowing past his defender. Lin committed his fourth turnover of the game when he was pickpocketed by Heat rookie Norris Cole. Miami got some big minutes from its key bench players. Cole gave Mario Chalmers a needed rest as well as Haslem and Battier played great defense in their limited minutes. The pace of the game increased as the game progressed and both teams stepped up their game on defense. Lin committed two more dunks that led to dunks by LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Miami's transition offense was at its best and contributed to the Heat retaking the lead. The Heat went into halftime leading 51-47 after both teams hit big shots in the final ten seconds of the half.
       A few things stuck out to me in the first half:

• This is the first game where Jeremy Lin isn't bigger than the game itself. Tonight's matchup is a playoff environment against the Knicks' biggest Eastern Conference foe on the road. Lin has played against the Lakers and Mavericks but New York has to make it past Miami if the Knicks want to make a run to the NBA Finals. He has never faced a team with as much starpower as the Heat. Miami has made it its goal to shut Lin and the Knicks down. He is tightly pressured every time down the court and committed six turnovers in the first half with only two points and two assists.
• The Knicks were lucky to be down by only four points at halftime. New York turned the ball over fifteen times in the first half and Lin and Melo were a combined 4-15 from the floor. The Knicks can't survive a playoff series if they commit this many turnovers and their scorers go cold shooting.
• Both teams have bench players with defined roles that are crucial to their respective team's success. The Heat have a solid backup point guard in Norris Cole, a good shooter in Mike Miller, and two extremely hard workers who hustle up and down the court in Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier. On New York's bench, J.R. Smith provides another scoring option and Steve Novak is an incredible spot-up three-point shooter.

       In the third quarter, Melo started to heat up with six points to bring his game total to fifteen, but the Knicks were countered by Chris Bosh and D-Wade, who has nine and eight points respectively. Jeremy Lin continued his worst performance of the season by only scoring four points and dishing out one assist in the quarter. He had some success driving to the basket and drawing the foul, but only two of his eight points through three quarters were not from the free throw line. He was not getting good looks at the basket and was not setting up his teammates in positions for them to score. Shane Battier scored a quick three after coming into the game and the Heat shut down the Knicks offense as their lead grew to twelve points.    

Courtesy of http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/heat/for-miami-heats-dwyane-wade-and-lebron-james-1166040.html

       It's the end of the third quarter and Miami Heat are up 80-66. It's 9 o'clock and probably a good time to open my backpack to start tonight's homework. The Knicks could could go on a run in the fourth quarter but New York and Jeremy Lin haven't shown me that they can win a quarter on the road against the Heat. The outcome may have been different had the game been played at Madison Square Garden, but it is clear that Miami is a much better team. The Heat have too many great scoring options between LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh, not to mention the solid production off the bench from Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers. Their transition offense and defense are unrivaled. With the possible exception of the Oklahoma City Thunder, there is not a team as athletic as the Miami Heat. Currently, the Heat are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and the New York Knicks are the seven seed. If these two teams were to play in te playoffs, Miami would win in four games in a five game series and five games in a seven game series. If the Knicks continue to improve their record and earn a higher seed, I think they have the capability to win one playoff series, but I can't see them beating Chicago or Miami in the postseason.