NBA Basketball
2011-01-27 - Miami Heat at New York Knicks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Thursday 27 January 2011 - Tip-Off 8pm ET
1am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Miami Heat (31-13) may have the Big Three, but it has been over 2 weeks since we last saw them all play together. Chris Bosh is out indefinitely, while Dwyane Wade has been suffering from migraines and sat out the Heat's last game against Toronto on Saturday. With Lebron James also missing time recently, it has meant other guys have had to step up to the mark to keep the Heat rolling.
The win over Toronto saw Miami snap a season high 4 game losing run and they have decided to go with a smaller line up to counteract the New York Knicks (23-21) here. That means James will have extended playing time and the team will once again look to the likes of Mike Miller to contribute.
Miller scored 32 points in place of the regular starter Wade against the Raptors and will be looking to make another impact here. Wade is indeed expecting to start this game after participating in practice with sunglasses on to prevent another migraine attack. He averages 35 points per game in his last 9 games against the Knicks, although the presence of Chris Bosh will be missed. Bosh scored 26 points in the first meeting at Madison Square Garden this season.
While the Heat were struggling of late with a number of injuries, the Knicks themselves snapped a 6 game losing run with a win against the winless road team Washington.
The Knicks will be hoping their star player, Amare Stoudemire, can take advantage of a suddenly smaller Miami team. He is averaging 27 points and 10 rebounds in 2 games against Miami this season and comes into the game with some confidence after scoring 30 points and grabbing 9 boards in the win over Washington on Monday.
The big man is averaging 26 points per game this season, 2nd in the NBA, and above Lebron James who has 25. Stoudemire actually averages slightly more at home at 27 points per game.
New York have one of the higher powered Offenses in the NBA that scores an average of 106 points per game but the key may be Wilson Chandler. Chandler has averaged 17 points per game against the Heat in the past.
Head to Head
Miami have won 7 in a row against the New York Knicks, including both meetings in so far this season. The Heat have 3 consecutive road wins at Madison Square Garden.
The Heat are also 5-1 against the spread in recent games, going 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.
New York 10-9-1 against the spread at home this season, Miami are 13-9-1 on the road.
New York are 6-3 against the spread on 2 days rest, Miami are 2-1 when having 3 or more days off this season.
Other Interesting Notes
The Knicks are 23-10-1 against the spread in their last 34 games overall, and are 18-6-2 as the underdog.
They are 20-6 against the spread in the game following a straight up win.
New York are also 11-1 against the spread when considered the underdog by between 0.5 and 5 points. However, that reads just 1-4 at home when considered the underdog by that many points.
Miami are 9-3 against the spread in their last 12 as the road favourite.
They are 7-3-1 against the spread when playing a team with a winning home record.
Prediction
The New York Knicks will not get a better chance to knock off the Miami Heat than what they are presented with here at Madison Square Garden. I feel they can cover the spread for a couple of reasons: Firstly, Miami have not played in a few days and could be caught a little cold by a team that really wants to prove they belong in the Eastern Conference with the other elite teams.
Secondly, the Big Three could easily be the Big One as Chris Bosh is out and Dwyane Wade has to be a little limited with the migraine issues he has been having. That means the other components of this team have to show up and their inconsistencies may be a problem against a good Knicks team.
Thirdly, the Knicks have played Miami close in their last meeting after being overawed in the first game at Madison Square Garden. I expect Amare Stoudemire to have his way on the inside and the rest of the team could feed of that confidence and will want to prove they are not that far behind the Heat as a threat in the East.
For those reasons, I just have a feeling the Knicks may keep this close.
The Pick :
New York Knicks 107-109 Miami Heat
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take the New York Knicks +3.5 PointsFollow me on Twitter @DavindaAulak- the link is below
