2012 NBA Playoff Preview and Predictions: Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks
Heat
Record: 46-20
Analysis: After playing second-fiddle to the Mavericks in last year's championship series, Miami is prepared for another run.
The cast of characters remains mostly intact, with new additions Shane Battier and Norris Cole joining the rotation.
LeBron James appears likely to earn his third MVP trophy when the awards are handed out. Credit his overwhelming efficiency in submitting a stellar season that even the most jaded voters won't be able to ignore.
James attempted the fewest three-pointers of his career (2.4 per game), making 36.2 percent, a career-high. As a result, his field goal percentage also climbed to a career-best 53.1 percent. James leads the Heat in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
His running mate, Dwyane Wade, has been limited to the fewest minutes of his career (33.2 per game), but has still chipped in 22.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.
If Miami again meets Chicago in the conference finals, they'll concede home court advantage.
However, that didn't prove to be a detriment last year when the Heat ousted the Bulls in five games.
Knicks
Record: 36-30
Analysis: Forget a tale of two seasons; the narrative of the Knickerbockers deserves a five-part TV mini-series.
With the acquisition of defensive stopper Tyson Chandler to All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, the Knicks seemingly had constructed a core capable of going deep into spring.
Alas, the faces may have been new, but the results reflected the past decade of disappointment in Madison Square Garden, as New York found itself 8-15 in the first week of February.
Yet just as the season appeared lost, the improbable story of Jeremy Lin came to fruition. Lin, a backup, undrafted guard a year removed from Harvard, would guide the Knicks to eight wins in nine games, putting the team back at .500 and catching the hoops world by storm.
But just when the Knicks seemed to assert their name back into relevancy, the wheels flew off as New York lost eight of its next 10 ballgames.
While some of the blame was pointed at Anthony, who had missed most of the resurgence due to injury, coach Mike D'Antoni ultimately was charged as the liability, leading former Hawks coach Mike Woodson to take the reins.
Although Woodson righted the ship (the Knicks would roll off Ws in nine of the next 11 contests), New York was dealt another blow, a likely season-ending injury to Lin.
All is not lost, however, as Anthony has turned it on as of late, averaging 29.8 points in April and looking like the franchise player he was imagined to be when acquired last season.
With all the drama that has gone down in the Big Apple this winter, who knows what spring holds for Carmelo and company.
Winning Percentage of 1001 Simulations: Heat 77.5 percent - Knicks 22.5 percent
