Knicks expecting hot road test in Miami
Mike D'Antoni, left, and Raymond Felton have a tall task ahead as they go on the road to face the red-hot Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. (Dec. 3, 2010) Credit: AP
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - While most of New York spent Monday digging out from beneath mounds of snow, the Knicks hopped an afternoon flight to Miami. The forecast? It's 66 degrees and sunny there Tuesday, and the players gladly will take in the warmth.
Here's the less enviable part: They'll take on the Heat, the team that thrashed the Lakers on Christmas Day to win its 14th of 15, and the one that upended the Knicks, 113-91, on Dec. 17.
"It's a good test for us on the road and they're playing as good or better than anyone in the league," coach Mike D'Antoni said of the Heat (23-9). "It's them and Orlando. Two hard games, but games that we can learn a lot about ourselves from."
What's been learned about the Knicks (18-12) since they last faced Miami is that there is some resilience in this group and that it's capable of beating quality opponents. The cynic's argument during the Knicks' eight-game winning streak earlier this month was that they fattened their record by feasting mostly on the league's sub-.500 cream puffs. Then came "Dream Week," and after beating the Nuggets, the Knicks lost to the Celtics and Heat before dropping an overtime decision to the Cavaliers. But the Knicks have rebounded to beat the Thunder and Bulls in convincing fashion.
"We did a great job in the fourth quarter against Chicago," Amar'e Stoudemire said after yesterday's practice. "We want to carry that over and that's what we're keying on now, getting late stops and closing out games defensively."
That's simple enough in theory, but Miami's Big Three sort of complicate the execution. In their last meeting, LeBron James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each had 26 points. Stoudemire (24 points) had his streak of consecutive 30-point games snapped at nine and the Knicks were outscored 56-34 after halftime.
At that point, the Knicks were coming off draining, emotional games against the Nuggets and Celtics. D'Antoni said fatigue wasn't a great factor in the loss to the Heat, but Stoudemire disagreed.
"[Miami] played well, but I think in the second half, we were a little tired," said Stoudemire, who has played 37 minutes in each of the last two games. "Now we're more rested and better prepared for them."
D'Antoni said not much will change in the team's approach or his strategy for the rematch, "just try to do what we did in the first half last time and spread that out the whole game."
But there is the task of containing James, who had another triple-double against the Lakers. Landry Fields likely will draw that assignment at some point.
"He's one of the toughest I've faced," the rookie said. "He's a triple threat. You just have to take away as many of his options as possible and do your best to make it difficult for him."
The players consider this game a Heat check, a way for the Knicks, sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, to gauge themselves against the league's hottest team.
"It would be a great win," Stoudemire said. "It would kind of tell us where we're at right now."
