The Miami Heat (8-4) take on the visiting New York Knicks (8-6) at AmericanAirlines Arena. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Monday, Nov. 23 and will air on NBA, SUN and MSG.
The Heat beat the 76ers 96-91 on Saturday. Dwyane Wade led all scorers on the team with 27 points on 8-for-17 shooting. The Knicks, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-102 win over the Rockets on Saturday. Kristaps Porzingis had a good game, accumulating 24 points and 14 rebounds to claim his sixth double-double of the season.
The defense for Miami should have a clear edge in terms of effective field goal percentage. They rank first in the league in forcing misses (opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 45.2%), while the offense of New York is 27th with a mark of 46.8%.
The Heat, a five-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against New York. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 193 points. The Heat enter the game with records of 8-4 Straight Up (SU) and 5-7 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 3-3 SU and 2-4 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. The Miami defense has been very good, only giving up 92.9 points per game. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Heat, who allow an NBA-low field goal percentage of only .411. New York has a habit of getting in foul trouble (23.5 fouls per game), so expect the Heat to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, New York has a SU record of 8-6 and an ATS record of 10-4. Most recently, New York is 8-2 ATS over the last 10 games. The Knicks are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .812 free throw percentage that ranks second in the NBA. Switching gears to New York’s defense, teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Knicks, who are the top team in the league in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .296. Don’t expect New York to give away the ball much on offense, where its 13.2 turnovers per game ranks fifth in the league.
This is the first meeting of the season for the Heat and the Knicks. The last time they played Miami came out on top, moving its SU record against the Knicks to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, the Heat lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – NY, ATS Winner – NY, O/U – Under
Notes
Miami is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Miami’s last 11 games.
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Miami is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami’s last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Miami’s last 21 games when playing New York.
Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York.
Miami is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against New York.
Miami is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against New York.
New York ranks 22nd in points per game with 99.0, while Miami ranks third in points allowed with an average of 92.9 given up.
New York averages 104.1 points per away game (ranked sixth). However, Miami has allowed an average of just 93.2 points per home game (ranked third).
New York is an even 5-5 when it allows under 100 points in a game, while Miami is also even (4-4) when failing to hit triple digits.
When allowing at least 100 points, New York is 3-1. In games in which it hits the century mark, Miami is a perfect 4-0.
The Heat have a defensive rating of 95.4, second-best in the NBA. The Knicks also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 102.4 (ranked 14th).
Miami is among the top-ranked teams based on its average field goal percentage of 45.7% (ranked seventh). New York has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-2).
The Miami Heat average 20.0 three point attempts per game, while the New York Knicks attempt 22.0 per game. When attempting 25 or more three pointers in a game, Miami has yet to win a game (0-1), while New York is an even 2-2.
The Miami Heat rank 20th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.42. The New York Knicks have a higher A/TO (1.52), ranking 12th.
The Miami Heat rebound 44.8 times per game and are ranked 13th. Ranked 12th, the New York Knicks rebound 45.0 times per game.
Miami ranks in the top half of the NBA in defensive rebounding at sixth, while New York ranks near the top of the league (fourth) in offensive rebounding.
Miami has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.3% this season. New York has a subpar 2-4 record when its TOV% is 14.3% or higher.
