Knicks vs. Heat Preview: How, Who to Watch as Rivals Week Ends

The New York Knicks can truly start to exorcise the demons of last season with a win over the reeling Miami Heat.

The New York Knicks' new year has seen them nuke the Nuggets and stifle the Sixers. 

With 2023 officially in the books, it's time to douse the Miami Heat. 

With the NBA's "Rivals Week" festivities wrapping up on Saturday, the Knicks will reignite their struggle against South Beach with a matinee game on Saturday afternoon. Following Thursday's 38-point win over Denver, the Knicks enter the weekend with a five-game winning streak, tied with Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City for the longest active tally in the Association. 

Messing with Miami in Manhattan, of course, would give the Knicks a quantum of revenge for last season, which saw the Heat end the Knicks' championship dreams in six-game fashion during the Eastern Conference's semifinal round. 

The Heat is trending in the wrong direction as the loser of each of its last five, including a 143-110 embarrassment in Boston while the Knicks dominated Denver. Entering Saturday play, Miami is a game and a half behind Indiana for the sixth and final automatic Eastern playoff spot and four behind the Knicks, who are locked in a fourth-place tie with Clevland.

This will be the second meeting between the Knicks and Heat this season, as the former previously prevailed in a two-point on Black Friday back in November. Behind a team-best 24 points from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks erased a Miami lead that reached as high as 21 and picked up a win that proved pivotal for their entry into the knockout round of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

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What: Miami Heat (24-21) @ New York Knicks (28-17)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC

Who's Favored: NYK -5

Keep An Eye On: OG Anunoby

Saturday's game stands as another reason why the Knicks traded for Anunoby. Entering the weekend, Anunoby is the biggest difference between last year's Knicks group and this one. The proof is in the statistical pudding, as New York is 11-2 since he arrived and has played the best defense of any team in the calendar new year. Will his prescience be enough for the Knicks to take down an established contender like Miami? Perhaps the true answer lies in the spring but another strong performance on Saturday would be a good start.

South Floridian to Watch: Terry Rozier

Much like last season, the conference final mainstays from Miami have been eaten up by injuries, as Jaime Jaquez Jr. is set to return after a six-game absence, while star Jimmy Butler was also sidelined to start the new year. That allows Miami to sneak up on teams again, much like they did as last season's eighth seed. Much like Anunoby, Rozier was brought to serve as a difference-maker, to turn Miami into the best threat to invade the Boston-Milwaukee-Philadelphia triumvirate atop the East. But the former Charlotte Hornet, averaging a career-best in scoring, has struggled in his first two showings as a South Floridian, hitting only 6-of-21. With the Knicks' defensive crackdowns posing a problem for the rest of the league, Miami will need Rozier to recapture his spark sooner rather than later.

They Said It

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, bro, it’s regular season. I could care less. I just like the fact that we won first and foremost. We don’t want to be on that end. We’re building the right habits. But for me, it only matters in April.”-Julius Randle on the blowout win over defending champion Denver (h/t Stefan Bondy, New York Post)

Crazy 8th: Knicks' Charlie Ward Talks 1999 NBA Finals Run, Compares to Heat

Prediction

Miami should benefit from getting some reinforcements back in the lineup and it'd be foolhardy to count them out if and when they settle onto the Eastern playoff bracket. Until then, it's hard to deny the Knicks any further momentum. There would perhaps be no better way to conclude one of the most lucrative weeks of the season than with a win over one of their most bitter rivals ... and one of the conference's most recurring contenders.

Knicks 118, Heat 106