The Heat Travel to New York City to Face the Knicks Friday Night

Sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference is the Miami Heat at 38-21. They’re coming off a big conference win over the Charlotte Hornets, 111-107. At the end of the week, they’ll face off against the New York Knicks.

This will be Miami’s second game on the road before returning home. The question is, can the Miami Heat cover a potentially sizeable spread vs New York Knicks?

The New York Knicks went into the All-Star break on a losing streak. After losing three games in a row, one of which was to a conference rival, things aren’t looking good.

RJ Barrett could be missing from the starting lineup on Friday. If he’s out, they’ll have to rely on Kemba Walker and Julius Randle to do the scoring. So, who has the best chance of covering on Friday night?

Game Preview: Miami Heat at New York Knicks February 25th

There are only a few teams in the NBA with a better defense than the Miami Heat. Ranking fifth in the NBA, the Heat allow an average of 104.44 points per game.

Even though the injuries they’ve suffered, the Heat have found a way to lead the Eastern Conference. Players like Dewayne Dedmon are stepping up at key points and leading the team when they need it most.

The New York Knicks have yet to put it all together, and that’s been apparent recently. They’ve lost their last three games, but each of the games was relatively close. If RJ Barrett is unable to play on Friday, they’ll look to Julius Randle to lead the team.

Randle definitely has a size advantage over PJ Tucker, who will likely guard him. This puts the Knicks in a good position. 

Miami Heat at New York Knicks Betting Prediction

The Miami Heat are barely in front of the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. The more conference games they win, the easier it’ll be to get the No.1 seed.

Taking on the Knicks shouldn’t be a problem for the Heat, who have an 8-2 record against New York. The real concern is how large the spread will be in this game. However, we still have a lot of faith in Miami here. 

On the road, the Miami Heat are 19-13-1 against the spread, one of the best ATS records in the NBA. In their last ten games against the Knicks, Miami has gone 7-3 against the spread.

The Knicks, on the other hand, have been awful against the spread lately. In their last eight games, they have a 1-7 record against the spread. A record as bad as that makes it hard to pick them. 

Miami is likely going to be favored by more than seven points in this game, but that’s okay.

Miami is familiar with covering larger spreads; when they last played the Spurs, they were favored by 8.5. In that game, they beat the Spurs 112-95, easily covering the spread. Look for them to beat the Knicks, cover the spread, with the total going UNDER on Friday. 

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.