Knicks Heat Playoff Preview
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Can New York Spoil Miami's Hopes?
With the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, the New York Knicks felt that they finally had the superstar caliber of players with the talent to once again bring championship glory back to Madison Square Garden. Those championship aspirations only grew when free agent center Tyson Chandler, a key player in Dallas' Finals win over Miami, signed with the greatest city on Earth. Unfortunately, problems adjusting to a up-tempo system and weak bench resulted in the losing ways and pain that Knicks fans have been all to familiar with.
After the firing of their head coach, the Knicks appeared to regain swagger. They started playing tough defense, and the wins started out-weighing the losses. Now, with only a small number of games left in the NBA-lockout shortened season, the Knicks appear on track to meet the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The only problem is that every sports analyst has already pencilled in another Miami versus Chicago Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks don't have the depth and talent from the starting roster to the bottom of the bench that the Heat have. There is no arguing this fact. Trying to make the argument would simply be stupid. Although the combined level of basketball talent is much heavier on the Heat roster, one superstar player can take control of a game on any given night. The Knicks have that type of superstar in Carmelo Anthony, but he would need to put on the type of series that sees he stat-line average 40-8-5. For those who think this is an impossible task, one only needs to look back when LeBron James put his Cavaliers on his shoulders to dominate the much more talented Detroit Pistons to reach the NBA Finals. James was a superstar, and his decision to shine on the big stage resulted in a massive upset over a squad that would have won that series 9 out of 10 times.
Records Mean Nothing
Although the roller coaster ride that has been the Knicks has seen both stretches of great play and horrible play, the only thing that matters now is that they will have their ticket punched for the playoffs. Season team records don't mean anything in the playoffs because every club enters the postseason 0-0. When the playoffs start, all the Heat will have is one more home game than the Knicks. Nothing more. This is because regular season wins are about us good as knowing the lotto numbers the day after the drawing when it comes to the postseason. Not to mention, in the last lockout season, it was the eighth-seeded Knicks who knocked off the top-seeded Miami Heat en route to a NBA Finals appearance. This is because the playoff seeding is not necessarily indicative of the actual talent level of a team.
After reviewing stats, numbers and wins, this sports and GPS tracker technology blogger believes that the Heat should win the series. However, everyone knows that stats, numbers and past wins don't play basketball games. The Knicks are not the typical eighth-seeded doormat that top seeds wipe their dirty boots off of in four or five games. The Knicks have talent, and lots of it. If the stars can literally align for the boys at MSG, someone will have to erase the team from Miami that has been penciled in the Eastern Conference Finals since the season began.