NBA Playoffs: Previewing New York Knicks-Miami Heat Series

 The Miami Heat open up their defense of their Eastern Conference championship against the New York Knicks on Saturday. LeBron James and company hope that this year will bring more than the Eastern Conference championship, but first they have to focus on the series at hand with the Knicks.

The New York Knicks are in the playoffs for just the second time in the last eight years. They finished the season 7-2 and are looking good heading into the postseason. The only problem for the Knicks is that their first-round matchup is against the heavily-favored Miami Heat.

The Heat are making their fourth-straight trip and have made the playoffs in eight out of the past nine seasons. The Heat already have a huge advantage having home court in the series, as they were tied with the Spurs for best home court record.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season, with the Heat taking the previous three games. The Heat beat the Knicks by an average of 11 points a game. The closest game this season between the two teams was the most recent, when the Knicks lost by eight.

The Knicks will want revenge against the Heat after not being able to pull out a victory against them in the regular season. Carmelo has the most riding on this series, because he has played in the postseason every year since he joined the league and has only advanced past the first round in one of those seasons. The farthest he ever made it in the playoffs was in 2009, when the Nuggets made it to the Conference Finals only to lose to the Lakers in six games.

LeBron James also has something to prove, and that is that he can win a championship. LeBron has made it to the NBA Finals twice now and has lost both times. Both of those times his team was the No. 2 seed in the league, and if you haven't noticed already, the Heat have the No. 2 seed in the East this year.

My Prediction

The Heat will have the advantage in the series, and I predict that they will take the series in six games over the Knicks, advancing to the second round and putting LeBron closer to his first ring.

Series Schedule

Game 1: Sat, April 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC in Miami

Game 2: Mon, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT in Miami 

Game 3: Thurs, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT in New York

Game 4: Sun, May 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC in New York 

Game 5: Wed, May 9, TBD

Game 6: Fri, May 11, TBD

Game 7: Sun, May 13, TBD