Miami @ New York preview
Madison Square Garden
Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2022 ) New York 96, Miami 110
One potential feel-good story for the New York Knicks officially ended in disappointing fashion Wednesday, when the team announced Big Apple native Kemba Walker would sit out the rest of the season due to a sore left knee.
If the Walker-less Knicks don't make a second-half surge into the playoff picture, head coach Tom Thibodeau's tale might be the next one to turn completely sour.
The Knicks will look to begin climbing back into contention Friday night, when they are slated to host the Miami Heat in the first game for both teams following the All-Star Break.
The Knicks haven't played since Feb. 16, when they squandered a 28-point lead in a 111-106 loss to the visiting Brooklyn Nets. The Heat last played Feb. 17, when they overcame a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to edge the host Charlotte Hornets, 111-107, in double overtime.
The loss to the Nets put an appropriate capper on a disappointing first half for the Knicks, who signed Walker and acquired his former Boston Celtics teammate Evan Fournier with the hopes of taking another step forward after ending a seven-season playoff drought last year. In 2020-21, Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors after returning to the team for whom he served as an assistant coach from 1995-96 through 2002-03.
But New York is 20-33 since racing out to a 5-1 start and Walker finishes the season averaging a career lows of 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. The Knicks ended the first half 3 1/2 games out of a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference after losing seven of eight, a span in which they sustained three defeats in which they led by at least 20 points.
On Feb. 17, SNY reported Knicks executive vice president William Wesley told team owner James Dolan that Thibodeau is partially responsible for the team's disappointing performance. Thibodeau, speaking publicly Wednesday for the first time since the loss to the Nets, shrugged off the report as part of coaching in New York.
"I talk to 'Wes' all the time," said Thibodeau, who signed a five-year contract prior to last season. "I don't respond to rumors or any of that stuff. I know the drill here. I've been here before, so I don't worry about any of that stuff."
The first half went much smoother for the Heat, which entered the All-Star Break by winning six of their last seven games to improve to 38-21 and move into a tie with the Chicago Bulls atop the Eastern Conference.
Miami has thrived despite playing 16 different starting lineups and is 11-4 in games without the tandem of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler leads the Heat with 21.8 points per game and ranks second with 6.4 rebounds while Adebayo is third in scoring (18.6) and first in rebounding (10.2).
Both players had double-doubles against the Hornets -- Adebayo finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Butler collected 15 points and 10 rebounds -- as the Heat stormed back from a 14-point fourth-quarter hole.
"We have been playing great basketball and we are number one in the East," Adebayo said. "So I can't be too mad."
--Field Level Media