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Carrie Stroup here with your 2012 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs odds for the Knicks vs. Heat Game 1. You can receive up to $250 in FREE CASH when you open an online betting account here today at Sportsbook.com. Tell them Carrie sent you.
Sportsbook.com Game 1 Line & Total: Miami -8.5 & 187
Series Line: Heat -1000/Knicks +650
There will be no shortage of star power when the Knicks and Heat tip off their first-round series Saturday afternoon in Miami.
But this matchup is a worst-case scenario for the Knicks. While they’re defending much better under Mike Woodson, they don’t have the personnel to handle all the components of the Big Three. And while they have enough firepower to try and outscore Miami (if they’re lucky), SF Carmelo Anthony and PF Amar’e Stoudemire don’t play enough defense to carry them past a Miami team that’s built for playoff basketball. The Heat have enough shot-makers to limit New York C Tyson Chandler’s impact around the basket on defense. SG Dwyane Wade’s broken finger is expected to be close to, if not at, 100 percent when the series tips off and SF LeBron James and PF Chris Bosh got their much-needed rest.
The Knicks went 11-1 at home under Woodson, but that one home loss was to Miami two weeks ago. Anthony carried them offensively that day, scoring 42 of their 85 points, but the Knicks couldn’t contain both James (29 points) and Wade (28). The Heat won all three of the matchups with New York this season, including two by double-digits in Miami.
The Knicks brought in Chandler to solidify their defense for the postseason, and he’s been a big help. But the Heat are one of the league’s best mid-range shooting teams, not to mention they’re the one team that can get out in transition during playoff basketball. Despite the presence of Chandler, James went for 26.7 PPG and Wade 26.0 PPG in three meetings with the Knicks this season.
In Anthony, New York does have a player capable of creating his own offense in the half-court. But he doesn’t have the supporting cast to compete with Miami. Stoudemire is still rounding into form after suffering from late-season back problems for a second straight year. The Knicks will be too easy to guard for an elite defense like Miami’s, as they lack any sort of consistent third option, and their only true shooter, Steve Novak, is too much of a defensive liability to play extended minutes.
Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
