The Miami Heat visit the NY Knicks on Wednesday in a battle between two Eastern Conference teams attempting to finish in the top six of the conference to avoid the Play-In portion of the postseason.
Heat vs. Knicks injuries: 3 Questionable, 3 Out
On Wednesday night, one team will have a blast while making the other team’s life a living hell: the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat.
When the Knicks and Heat meet in New York for the final time this season, both teams will be looking to strengthen their chances of finishing in the Eastern Conference’s top six.
For this decisive game, both teams may be missing key players.
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is questionable for Wednesday’s game after sitting out for a second consecutive game on Monday with a sprained right hand. If Brunson is unable to play, 26-year-old guard Immanuel Quickley will continue to start in his stead.
Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s leading scorer at 22.8 ppg, was sidelined on Tuesday with a neck injury. If he can’t play, Max Strus or Caleb Martin could find themselves thrust into the starting lineup.
After a dominating 137-115 win over the visiting Rockets on Monday night, the Knicks had Tuesday off.
In 28 minutes of action, Julius Randle scored 26 points (10-19 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 3-3 FT), grabbed four boards, dished out three assists, and swiped one ball.
While his rebounding has slowed down as the season winds down, veteran forward Randle is still a scoring machine.
In March, he played 13 games and averaged 27.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.2 three-pointers. Only three times did he score less than 20 points.
New York (43-33) won their fourth straight game and are now just three games ahead of the eighth-place Heat and two and a half games ahead of the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets (40-35). (40-36).
If the Knicks were to win on Wednesday, they would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat and a much better chance of making the playoffs. New York has a 2-1 advantage in the season series.
The Heat have struggled in the last two games, which have had playoff-like atmospheres. On Saturday, Miami lost 129-100 to the visiting Nets, and on Tuesday, they let the Toronto Raptors pull away.
- MORE NBA: Will LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Demar DeRozan play Wednesday? Injury Report Lakers – Bulls
Injury Report Knicks:
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| DaQuan Jeffries | Calf |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 31
|
| Duane Washington Jr. | Hip |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 31
|
| Jalen Brunson | Hand |
Game Time Decision
|
| Derrick Rose | Illness |
Game Time Decision
|
Injury Report Heat:
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Jimmy Butler | Neck |
Game Time Decision
|
| Nikola Jovic | Back |
Expected to be out until at least Apr 1
|
