The New York Knicks arguably had a strong offseason, acquiring stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. However, their season hasn’t started as smoothly as hoped. The Knicks face the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, dealing with depth issues due to injuries.
Center Mitchell Robinson has yet to play this season as he recovers from an ankle injury sustained in May. Power forward Precious Achiuwa, a former Heat first-round pick, is sidelined with a strained left hamstring from the last preseason game, originally expected to miss two to four weeks. Additionally, starting wing Josh Hart is battling an ankle injury and did not finish Monday’s 110-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hart, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game.
Team chemistry remains a concern for the Knicks. They traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to acquire Towns, known for his perimeter shooting. Towns is performing well on free throws (93.3%) and three-pointers (66.7%) but is just fourth on the team in scoring (15.3 points per game). His two-point shooting (45.5%) lags behind his career average (56.9%).
Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks in scoring (23.0 points per game) and assists (4.7), but his overall numbers are down as he adjusts to the new team dynamics. There’s also a sense that the Knicks miss DiVincenzo’s long-range shooting, as he led the team with 283 made three-pointers last season, shooting 40.1% from deep.
The Miami Heat, after a tough opening-night loss to the Orlando Magic, have won two straight games against non-playoff teams Charlotte and Detroit. When the Heat are at their best, it starts with their defense. On Monday, Jimmy Butler had four of Miami’s 15 steals in a 106-98 win over Detroit. Butler, who struggled against Orlando with just three points, two free throws, and one steal in 26 minutes, bounced back to average 24.5 points, 14.0 free throw attempts, and 3.0 steals in the next two games.
Terry Rozier (19.3 points per game), Tyler Herro (18.3), and Butler (17.3) lead Miami in scoring through three games. Bam Adebayo leads in rebounds (8.7), while Butler tops the team in assists (6.7) and steals (2.3).
Butler, a five-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive team, continues to excel at getting steals, an essential part of Miami’s strategy. The Knicks will need to bring their A-game to compete with the Heat’s defensive prowess.
