NBA Playoffs Round 1 Round-Up: Miami Heat (2)...

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Round-Up: Miami Heat (2) defeat the New York Knicks (7) 4-1

And so the peculiar case of the New York Knicks’ season ends.

I thought that the Knicks would at least push the series to two games, one win coming from Melo singlehandedly throwing up some hero ball and the other coming from Novak and JR Smith shooting lights out, but I guess we have to settle for only one. Hey, at least they snapped that 13 game playoff losing streak!

This 5 game series has been as ridiculous, confusing, and heartbreaking for the Knicks as their regular season has. First, Iman Shumpert (one of my favorite rookies) tears his ACL in Game 1. Then after a Game 2 loss, Amar’e inexplicably pushes a fire extinguisher, cutting his hand badly and goes out for Game 3. Game 4 saw the Knicks breaking their losing streak as well as staving off elimination… but at the loss of veteran guard Baron Davis (one of my favorite players in the past 10 years). Plus, JR Smith had gone cold all series and Steve Novak never got enough touches.

Was this series indicative of what the Miami Heat will do in the rest of the playoffs? Well, I wouldn’t say so just yet. This Knicks squad has been incredibly inconsistent all year with roster changes, coaching changes, injuries, etc, and these 5 games alone have been no different. The Heat’s defense will be there, but it’s always there, but they will be going up against a team with a more cohesive identity that has a great frontline (the Pacers). Granted, the Heat’s overall talent can overcome any team, but I expect to see some closer battles than we are used to. I never think the regular season is indicative of anything that will happen in the post season (example: did anyone see the Mavs coming last year?).

So with a farewell to the Knicks, I’ll leave you with this amazing moment from STAT himself: