With a single fourth-quarter sequence, the smashmouth Eastern Conference series that kept being framed from a 1990s perspective suddenly looked a whole lot like one straight out of 2023. And it was because of yet another star player injury that threatens to turn the tide.
With just over five minutes to go in Game 1 Sunday between the Heat and Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Miami star Jimmy Butler drove to his right and rose for a shot as he drew contact from New York swingman Josh Hart. Hart inadvertently kicked his foot into Butler’s right foot, prompting him to roll his ankle and writhe in pain as soon as the play concluded.
Butler somehow toughed it out and remained in the game. But the fourth-quarter closer largely stood in the opposite corner, far away from the action, as 37-year-old Kyle Lowry ran the offense instead.
Even without any late-game heroics from Butler, Miami managed to hold onto Game 1, 108–101, in part because of how the Heat game-planned the Knicks, who were without a star of their own. Julius Randle ended up sitting out the series opener after reaggravating a left ankle sprain during Game 5 of the Cleveland matchup. As such, much of the Knicks’ playmaking responsibility fell to New York floor general Jalen Brunson, who had 25 points—and seven assists to go with his five turnovers—but took 23 attempts to log them. “Today, I was horrific,” Brunson told reporters after the defeat. “This one’s on me. I’ve got to be better.”
There were a handful of reasons for that, though. Miami dug in and got comfortable sinking into the paint to guard against Brunson’s drives toward the rack. Taller, longer defenders like Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler provided resistance against him. And as the Knicks struggled more and more from outside—Obi Toppin hit three triples after halftime, but the rest of the team shot just 1-for-12 from distance in the second half—other defenders began crowding the paint to wall off driving lanes. (The ability to do that eventually helped cool off RJ Barrett’s hot start, too.)
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All told, the Knicks shot just 7-of-34 (20.6%) from deep Sunday. That obviously won’t cut it for New York in this series. Counting both the regular season and playoffs, the Knicks went 1–7 in contests where they made seven triples or fewer. And it’s part of why Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks need Randle: The Heat, who limited their turnovers and kept New York off the offensive glass, are tough defensively. They excel at making the floor smaller. (Mitchell Robinson, the NBA’s top offensive rebounder and someone who slayed the Cavs on the glass in the first round, took a nasty fall at one point Sunday, and looked a bit hobbled.) Erik Spoelstra has his team use zone defense more than any other club, and it confounds opposing offenses at times.
The Heat, winners in five of their first six to start the postseason—they didn’t manage to win five of six at any point in the regular season—were led by Butler until his injury. He had 25 points, 11 boards, four assists and a couple steals. Other key efforts stemmed from Gabe Vincent (20 points), who started the game hot, and Lowry (18 points), who kept the offense going late. It wasn’t close to the blistering 45% from three that Miami shot in Round 1 during the huge upset series victory over Milwaukee. But it still managed to be enough.
Star Bam Adebayo (battling through a hamstring injury) and the Heat role players were already going to be massive in this series, but that becomes even more true now, with Tyler Herro out due to his broken hand, and Butler potentially hobbled, too. Oddly, the Knicks didn’t make a point of attacking Butler late in the fourth period, when he stayed in despite barely being able to walk at first. It’s unclear still whether he’ll be available to go in Game 2.
“You just don’t know with ankle sprains,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “I don’t even know if we’ll know more by tomorrow. We’ll just have to see. It’ll be a waiting game.”
Regardless of whether Randle is back for Game 2, New York would be wise to set plenty of perimeter screens to force Miami’s defense to move and utilize swingman Quentin Grimes, who returned after missing the last two games of the Cleveland series. He played just four minutes in the second half, and failed to attempt a shot in that span. But Grimes’s shooting ability could help space things a bit more, giving Miami less opportunity to load up at the rim.
We can talk adjustments and strategies all day long. But with a star forward from each team already banged up, it might come down to who can play through the pain. After all, with the history in a bloody rivalry like Heat-Knicks, how could it be any other way?
