NBA Betting Preview – New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat

Honestly, back in June, I thought I would be writing about Miami being a legitimate contender with Wade, Lamar Odom and Carlos  Boozer. I thought that there was no way that Odom and Boozer would balk at the chance to move to South Beach to play with Wade. Without those two, we’re looking at the same lackluster Heat team that bumbles its way in to the playoffs on the back of Dwyane Wade. The Heat are 4-1 ATS at home, but face a Knicks team searching for an identity.

The Heat are going to be in a considerable amount of trouble all throughout the year. Mario Chalmers is going to be a strong point-guard and Wade is unreal. But Michael Beasley is going through some distracting personal problems and Udonis Haslem is good for 10-10 at the most. Don’t even get me started on the aging Jermaine O’Neal, who’s back up is Jamaal Magloire. That’s a center tandem that nobody wants anything to do with.

The Heat had plenty of trouble scoring last season. Wade averaged an unbelievable 30.2 points per game, but the next highest producer was Beasley who had just 13.9 points. The Heat were hoping The Beast would take a step forward and approach the 20-point ceiling, but Beasley took all sorts of trips backwards with personal demons that will distract him throughout the season. The kid is just not focused on basketball.

New York Knicks (0-0) vs. Miami Heat (0-0)
Wednesday, October 28th — AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami — 7:30pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Miami -4.5 (206.5)

If the Heat have contract issues with Wade and company, the Knicks have a debacle of contract plagues. David Lee and Nate Robinson are both without extensions, and both have proven that they deserve it. Lee is a rare 15-10 talent that always rebounds and does the dirty work. Washington is a playmaker and both are huge fan favorites in NYC.

The team has banked its immediate future on two other white guys – Danilo Gallinari and Darko Milicic, both who are going to excel in D’Antoni’s speedy offense. They can both run the court and Gallinari has been scouted as one of the best pure shooters above 6-foot-9 (he’s 6-foot-10).

I wasn’t sold on Miami last year, this summer and I’m definitely not sold on them this year. I think that a year of optimism for Wade and Riley is derailed by an upstart Knicks team that takes to the road and continues to build on the 4-2 ATS record they ended last season with. The Knicks can run and score, and Miami won’t be able to keep up.

Furious Upset Special – Knicks +4.5 (OVER)