5 Reasons the Knicks Can Beat the Heat in a Playoff Series

With the 2012 NBA playoffs approaching, one of the hottest storylines is the potential No. 2 vs. 7 matchup of the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. Both team entered the season with title aspirations, and with five and six games remaining, respectively, we'll see at least one of those team's dreams go up in flames at the hands of the other.

While many will favor the Heat in this clash of titans, the New York Knicks have been one of the most surprisingly dominant teams in the NBA since Mike D'Antoni was fired. With Carmelo Anthony at the helm, the Knicks may be able to pull off an historic first-round upset.

Here are five reasons why.

5. Defense

For some reason, the popular belief is that the New York Knicks are a terrible defensive unit but dominant on offense. Incidentally, that's actually backward.

The Knicks are tied for eighth in the NBA in terms of scoring defense and ninth in opponent field goal percentage. Meanwhile, they are only 15th in points per game, 23rd in field goal percentage and 26th in three-point field goal percentage.

While that may throw up the caution flags, it shouldn't. Defense has always won championships, and as the following slides will display, those percentages are rather misleading as to what they're capable of.

4. Confident and Fearless

Not only do the New York Knicks feel as if they can beat anyone in the NBA, but they've done enough to back that claim up. They also have absolutely nothing to lose in a season which many have already begun to write them off as championship pretenders.

The Heat, meanwhile, are in the midst of a season that's come down to championship or bust. They're also in the midst of a month in which they've gone just 6-4. One of the wins was against New York, though, which must be acknowledged.

The question is, can the Heat do so for four to seven games? With so much to lose, I'm not sure they'll be able to fight off the pressure.

3. Inconsistently Consistent

Individually, the Knicks have some of the most inconsistent players in the NBA. Nevertheless, someone always seems to step up and help the Knicks register the W.

Anthony started out weak but has since turned it around, reaching the 30-point mark in five of his past eight games. J.R. Smith is right there with Melo, starting out poorly and turning it on lately with averages of 18.4 points and 1.6 steals over the last five games. He's also shooting 47 percent from the floor.

While Linsanity is injured and Amar'e Stoudemire's return is questionable, the Knicks actually appear to be in perfect harmony. This is not good news for the Miami Heat.

2. Playoff Experience

Anthony has been to the playoffs on nine different occasions, making one Western Conference Finals appearance. Stoudemire has reached the playoffs on six occasions, including three Western Conference Finals appearances. Tyson Chandler, meanwhile, was the best defensive player on the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks just one year ago.

Oh, and some guy named Baron Davis was at the heart of the greatest playoff upset in NBA history.

If you think the Knicks don't have enough experience to pull this off, you clearly don't know basketball.

1. Carmelo Anthony

The New York Knicks can shut down a team on defense, light up the scoreboard from distance and have three star players with moderate to championship-level success. Most important of all, however, is the fact that the New York Knicks have Anthony.

A year ago, I wouldn't have written this slide in a positive manner. In 2012, however, Anthony has finally found the balance between dominant scoring and influential play. In other words, he's not just putting up statistics; he's doing things that enable his teammates to find their rhythm, as well.

As long as Melo continues this level of play when Stoudemire returns, there is no reason the New York Knicks can't pull off the upset.