Knicks-Heat: Miami Exposes New York's Weaknesses on Opening Night

The one saving grace from the New York Knicks' 2009 opener last night in Miami is that they don't have to play D-Wade and the Heat again until...Christmas Day.

Happy holidays, Knicks fans.

It is not as if Mike D'Antoni's woeful Knicks were blindsided in their 115-93 loss in Florida last night—they knew what they were going to get; they were just powerless to stop it.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 22 points and 12 rebounds as part of a comprehensive victory which really could have been a lot more than the 22-point final margin suggests.

Michael Beasley netted himself 21 and Miami shot almost 57 percent from the field, with former Knick Quentin Richardson the only Heat starter not to finish with double-digit points.

The Knicks were at least respectable in the first half, trailing by just four after the opening quarter and by nine at the end of the half.

Then the flood gates opened, and every one of New York's problems came crashing down on them at once.

Miami exploded on a 32-8 run, nailing 26 of 31 from the field to build an insurmountable lead which grew to as many as 31 points in the third period.

We all knew the problems the Knicks would face this season, and each and every one of them materialized.

The defense transitioned from being patchy to non-existent, while on offense nobody could make a shot.

A missed 23-footer, a missed 26-footer, a missed dunk.

The Knicks shot just 5-of-23 in the third quarter, scraping together a mere 15 points. By the time they showed some life in the final quarter, the game had already been long-decided.

There were bright spots for the Knicks, however. Like I said, they won't come up against this type of barrage every day.

David Lee—who led the league in double-doubles last season—was one rebound short last night, finishing with 22 points and nine boards, and Wilson Chandler chipped in with 21 points in a team-high 37 minutes of action.

Danilio Gallinari came off the bench to score 22 points, making 7-of-13 three-pointers in 28 minutes on court, and the Knicks didn't look completely out of place running the break or working the inside game.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got.

Starting point guard Chris Duhon went 1-of-7 from the field for just three points, while Jared Jeffries scored just two.

Nate Robinson failed to make a field goal in eight attempts, rookies Toney Douglas and Jordan Hill combined for three points, one rebound, and one turnover in eight minutes, and Larry Hughes did not play.

If it wasn't for Gallinari, the Knicks would have shot an awful 3-for-26 from beyond the arc. As it was, they shot a total 38 percent from the field.

There is a lot for the Knicks to work on, obviously. But really their problems come down to D'Antoni's fast-paced Euroball offense.

The Knicks will score a lot of points and they will concede a lot of points. They will generally need to average in the low 100s if they are to remain competitive and they need a Plan B for when their outside shooters are cold.

Teams can live and die by the longball.

The Knicks know this formula will fail more often than succeed, and as long as they continue with this mindset, there's no reason to have any more optimism for 2010 than there was at the end of last season.

This year is off to a rough start, but there's 81 more games to go.

Let's hope that doesn't equate to 81 more games of heartache and a 10th consecutive losing season.