I’m on the Miami Heat at home vs the Knicks for these reasons:

- Knicks struggle with teams that play above average defense. They can be held down by suffocating players like the defenders that Miami has. Miami has allowed an average of 102 points so far this season, 4th best in the league so far.

- The offense has not looked great for the Knicks. Yeah they looked good vs the Pacers, but the pacers are 22nd in points per game, and only defend the three ball well. Every shot the Knicks take in this game will be closely contested and the Heat are a physical unit that will put bodies on the ball handlers to create difficulty through contact.

- Knicks are injured. They don’t have much of a bench other than McBride, and they still have to worry about if Josh Hart will play in this game with his ankle injury. I predict that he will play but the injury will effect his explosiveness on the defensive end of the floor, which is going to set up Jimmy Butler for a good outing.

- Heat have the better coach and bench unit. Having guys who have been in playoffs and finals situations are key in matchups like these where the game will likely be tight in the end, but I trust the more experienced team as a whole who’s coach is a hall of famer.

Official Play: Heat +2

Side Bet: Under 214.5

Hail Mary: Jimmy Butler over 17.5 points