NBA – Once again apathetic in defense, the Knicks lost the game at all for the attack against a Miami squad not far from 60% on shots (127-120), in the wake of the big night of “Jimmy Buckets” (35 points).
We had left the Knicks Monday, defeat at home against Wolves after a particularly embarrassing defensive performance. Nearly two days later, we found the New York troupe in Florida in Miami, with one question in mind: Julius Randle and his gang were going to take advantage of the challenge that the Heat embodies to put their ideas back in place and rectify the situation in their half of the field?
Answer, after 48 minutes of basketball: no. For the second time in a row, the club New York was indeed still distinguished by a defensive level of the weakest, forcing itself to fall into a competition at all for the attack. And in this game, even against a team of Miami which holds, neither more nor less, than the worst attack in the league this season, Tom Thibodeau’s men lost…
Faced with a defense whose sudden inability to function properly is quite complex to explain, the collective of the Heat simply strolled in the opposing half of the field, like the score of the boss of Jimmy Butler (35 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals), and thus completed the meeting with 57% on shots, with a grandiose 16/28 behind the arc! With their “small” 51% on shots (40% from behind the arc), the Knicks had no chance of competing.
There are now only two wins between the two teams in the Eastern Conference standings…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Knicks still not decided to defend. After offering one of their worst defensive efforts of the season at the start of the week, conceding 140 points (61% on shots) against Wolves, however deprived of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Edwards, the Knicks did not raise the lead in this area yesterday, conceding 127 points (57% on shots) against a Miami team which is nevertheless among the worst in the league in attack (30th in the average points scored per game, 25th in the offensive evaluation out of 100 possessions). As in the previous match, it was the defense behind the arc in particular that weighed down Tom Thibodeau’s men, who conceded 16 award-winning shots because of their systematic wanderings and delays in their defensive coverage at this distance. Worrying.
– A strange arbitration. Particularly certain refereeing decisions made against the Knicks. Because if the players of New York are of course the first responsible for their defeat, in particular because of their defense to the absent subscribers, certain faults whistled against them clearly could have left them perplexed. Especially in the last quarter, when two offensive fouls for supposed moving screens were called against Isaiah Hartenstein, while the slow motion clearly showed “flops” from Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry. Same thing with a foul called on Mitchell Robinson on a screen…after he was pushed into that screen by Max Strus. There was also this unwhistled walk on Jimmy Butler about thirty seconds from the end of the match when the gap was only 5 points, the Heat winger also collecting a foul on the action… We I could go on with a few more examples, but the point is clear: the Knicks have not been spared arbitration. And if this is in no way an excuse to clumsily try to justify their defeat, the players can wonder about the evening they spent, especially in a match whose final gap is only 7 points, and whose the issue was decided in this last strange act of the arbitration point.
– A collective effort from the Heat
. Difficult to congratulate a player in particular when the team completes an outing with 127 points at 57% on shots with a 16/28 from behind the arc. With six players at 10 points or more, Jimmy Butler obviously headlining with his card to 35 points (11/19), 9 rebounds and 4 steals, the Heat sheared the weak defense of the Knicks in many ways on field. Certainly a founding match for the final segment of the season for the club, which is still not qualified in the Top 6 of the Eastern Conference.
TOPS & FLOPS
✅ Tyler Herro. For three quarters, the back of the Heat was quite invisible. Then came the last act, and the Herro put on his cape by scoring 14 of his 22 points in this final period to help his team definitively distance New Yorkers. A late awakening, but damn saving for the former Kentucky.
✅ Quentin Grimes. Too discreet in attack lately, the rear of the Knicks has again asserted himself a little more by taking these shots with more confidence and enthusiasm, and his efficiency was then unsurprisingly good: 22 points at 6/10 behind the arch. He was one of the few real satisfactions on the New York side, in defeat.
✅ Josh Hart. As always, the handyman of the Knicks was illustrated by his generous volume of play off the bench, compiling 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. An always safe bet.
⛔️✅ Jalen Brunson. He drooled in defense, since the Heat particularly targeted him on the “pick-and-roll” to place him in “mismatch” positions on Jimmy Butler in particular on a few occasions, but the Knicks point guard got away with it. is otherwise quite well out in the other half with 25 points and 5 assists, along with 6 rebounds. Even if he still committed 5 of his team’s 9 ball losses on his own…
⛔️ Julius Randle. Disappointing game for the strong winger, coming off a career high of 57 points. At first very inspired in the first half with good assists (9 in total), he then wanted to enter a little more into his attacking match in the second half… and his rhythm broke: 15 points at 7/ 16 on shots, and 4 bullet losses.
THE FOLLOWING
– Heat (40-34) : reception of the Nets, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (01:00).
– Knicks (42-32) : « back-to-back » à Orlando (00h00).
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