- The Heat look to continue their success against the New York Knicks and win their third straight matchup this season in their second visit to Madison Square Garden. LeBron enjoyed a triple-double with 32 points (14-23 FG shooting), 11 rebounds and 10 rebounds in his much-hyped return to New York after turning them down in free agency. He was virtually unstoppable in that game with his jump shot working to perfection from just about every spot on the floor. Not to be outdone, Wade scored 40 points to lead the Heat in the second game of the season series. The Heat will obviously need strong games from both with Bosh again out due to an ankle sprain.
- Speaking of Wade, he will indeed play in tinted glasses tonight because of lingering issues with his migraine that prevented him from playing against the Toronto Raptors. "I really don't know how I even look in 'em yet. So I've got to make sure I look good in 'em, too," he said after today's shootaround. Chances are they last as long as Juwan Howard's face mask did earlier this season.
- Let's not forget how effective Joel Anthony was in guarding Amar'e Stoudemire so far this season. He was the defensive catalyst for the Heat when they broke away in the third quarter of the game in New York and was able to pester Amar'e into taking contested shots around the rim. Along with strong perimeter defense by Wade and LeBron to cover the Knicks shooters, the game plan was highly effective. Stoudemire is averaging 27 points and 10.5 rebounds against the Heat this season and is 21-51 from the field (41% FG percentage).
- Expect little action from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier as the Heat are expected to continue playing "small ball" with Anthony at center and LeBron at power forward along with James Jones and Mike Miller holding down the small forward spot.
- It might be wise for Spoelstra to give extended minutes for Eddie House tonight. Something tells me his current stretch of impressive work off the bench will be continue with plenty of motivation playing against his former team in a national TV setting.
- This will be the first time Mike Miller will play against the Knicks. LeBron may be paired against Danilo Gallinari but if Miller can match the Italian's production then the Knicks will be as good as done unless Raymond Felton or Wilson Chandler has a monster game to pair with Stoudemire.
| Home | Away | ||
| New York | Miami | ||
| Knicks | Heat | ||
| 23-21 | Record | 31-13 | |
| (27th of 30) 106.3 | Pts Allowed | 93.9 (5th of 30) | |
| (2nd of 30) 106.7 | Pts Scored | 101.8 (10th of 30) | |
| (16th of 30) 41.1 | Rebounds | 42.9 (8th of 30) | |
| Likely Starters | |||
| Mario Chalmers | PG | Raymond Felton | |
| Dwyane Wade | SG | Landry Fields | |
| Lebron James | SF | Wilson Chandler | |
| Joel Anthony | PF | Danilo Gallinari | |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas | C | Amar’e Stoudamire | |
| James Jones | 6th | Toney Douglas | |
| Matchup Series 2-0 | |||
| Madison Square Garden, NY | |||
| 8:00 PM EST | |||
| TNT / 790 AM | |||
| Injury Report: | |||
| Heat: U. Haslem (out indefinitely), Bosh (ankle, day-to-day) | |||
| Knicks: Azubuike (out indefinitely), Curry (out indefinitely) | |||