The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are a bit like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed at the end of Rocky II. Which embattled team will climb up to the second playoff rope before the season's bell rings?
That's only half the story. The Knicks have a hand in the postseason-seeding decision, too. They've been a bit more like Rocky Balboa at the end of Rocky I lately, letting their aggressive Atlantic opponent, the Sixers, punch their way into contention for the sixth spot.
To make it more complicated, Boston squares off against Miami and New York in two of its final four bouts.
And then there are draws. I'm not even going to get into that (but you can see all the tiebreaker rules in this interesting piece from NBA.com).
One thing is clear though: Pound-for-pound, as Bleacher Report's Paul Kasabian points out, the Knicks would rather face the Heat in Round 1.
If that turns out to be the case, New York will be matching up Carmelo Anthony and Landry Fields against one of the greatest 2-3 combinations in the game's history: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Can they hang? Can Melo and Fields handle the King and D-Wade?
Well, not really.
While most fans and the media agree that a first-round matchup against the Heat is more desirable, and possibly winnable, the Knicks will probably lose the battle of dueling shooters.
The record (and likely your assumption) shows that Landry Fields is the weak link here. That's good and bad. Fields is a variable that can go either way. If he can up his game at this critical time, tipping the balance closer (if not all the way) in favor of New York, Miami might take it on the chin and be knocked out of the playoffs early.
Problem is, there's no indication this will happen.
Landry Fields (and the Knicks) have not been able to stop the Dwyane Wade bleeding all season. He pummels them. In four games against New York, Wade averaged 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and even two steals and a block. Fields? 8/8/3/0/0. Body blow.
But there is a little hope, and that hope is Chauncey Billups. He can pitch in and knows how to do so in the playoffs. If Fields is not able to run up some baskets, Billups can pick up some of that slack. The veteran can also help cover on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully D'Antoni is considering this and other ways to even out the Fields-Wade mismatch.
Any way you look at it, though, Landry Fields must up his game.
As for the small forward matchup, anything can happen. Anthony and James are two of the best scorers in the game if not two of the best players. They went toe-to-toe only once this season and Anthony more than held his ground against King James (29/9/2/1/1 vs. 27/7/5/3/1, respectively).
New York even played defense that game, holding D-Wade to 12 points and the Miami bench to 15. The Knicks also forced 18 turnovers and eventually won 91-86 in one of their best performances of the year.
This is a good formula for Knicks success against the Heat. Staunch Wade and the Miami bench, force turnovers and keep the scoring low (C'mon Mike!). Let Fields focus a bit more on defending, since he will lose the punch-for-punch with Wade. Let Fields get a little physical with Wade, use his youth to wear the veteran down a bit. In the meantime, Anthony, Stoudemire and Billups will be enough to pick up some of the offense missing from the number two.
If it comes to Miami-New York in Round 1 and the series goes the way of that last fight, we'll be drawing up a new card for the Knicks in Round 2.
Ding. Ding.
Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller AnnaLynne McCord
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