Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 

Venue:  FTX Arena, Miami, Florida

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Spread: NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread: Heat -6, O/U 201

WynnBet: Spread:  Heat -6.5, O/U 200

Knicks: 23-25, 11th place Eastern Conference

Heat: 30-17, 1st place Eastern Conference

The Sportsbooks agree… The Heat are favored over the Knicks and the scoring will be low.  The history of this matchup is similar… Both these teams built defensive juggernauts in the 90’s back when Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing patrolled the paint… Between then and now the Heat have been fantastic with Dwayne Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, and Udonis Haslem dropping that defense junk and simply winning basketball games by scoring more than the other team…  In the interim the Knicks have been awful… they simply can’t draft or trade well. The Knicks seemed to be righting a 20 year listing ship last season when PF Julius Randle led a club of fun young players deep into the playoffs for the first time in forever…. Then magic happened.  The universe remembered that the worst owner in sports owns the Knicks…. And Kharma struck hard and now the Knicks stink again…. The only stat the Knicks are holding onto is that defensive ranking. Meanwhile the 1st place Heat are again scoring the basketball WHILE playing defense.

The New York Knicks thought they were done rebuilding when last season PF Julius Randle became their best player and the roster around him had decent young players.  Then this year happened….  and Julius Randle had to try once again to stomach the awful Knicks fans!   The horrible unruly Knicks fans that boo their own team and drive players like Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Durant (never a Knick player but clearly rebuked a Knicks max contract offer), and now Julius Randle (he wants out.. It’s not even a well protected secret).  They boo their players when they are drafted, before they are developed, and when they actually need the supportive cheers of a home crowd.  The spoiled by nothing crowd in New York need only to look at the mirror to see why they have the worst owner in sports and the most disappointing team in basketball.   The Knicks have 5 wins over their last 10 games… They have lost 4 of their last 5 games.  They lost their last game to the Cleveland Cavaliers 95-93.  The terrible team equals decent spreads in New York.  The Knicks are 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games.

The Miami Heat are the #1 team in the Eastern Conference thanks to some injuries on the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets.  Not that the Heat don’t belong in the #1 spot… but something is really happening to their direct competition.  The Heat have 7 wins over their last 10 games… over that time they are 8-2 ATS.   It’s no secret that Sf Jimmy Butler is their best player as he is fantastic on both ends.  The Jimmy Butler who scores 21.4 ppg is the same Jimmy Butler who locks down the defensive end.  PG Kyle Lowry landed in exactly the right spot after the Toronto Raptors moved on from him. C Bam Adebayo has been in and out of the rotation for the Heat but when he plays is a true all-star.  Add in that the Heat are drowning in quality shooters and you have the recipe for a team to hang on to the #1 spot.

At the risk of sounding "cocky," I've made betting on the NBA look pretty easy this season. Yesterday's winner on Boston gives me a 34-16 (68%) YTD record with NBA sides! Not to be outdone, I'm also 7-2 L9 NBA totals! Though I ended up on the wrong side of Bills-KC, it was a 4-1 Sunday overall! My record over the L13 days is 33-19 with all picks! Go get it! Get Will Rogers’ picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Knicks are 23-25 on the season, but 24-24 ATS.  They have logged 20 Overs and 28 Unders.  They are 11-11 in road games.

The Heat are 30-17 on the season, but 28-19 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs and 19 Unders.  They are 16-5 in home games.

The Knicks are 27th in scoring with 103.9 ppg, 10th in rebounds with 45.6 per game, and 25th in AST/TO ratio at 1.6. They are 5th in defense while only allowing 104.3 ppg from opponents.  It doesn’t help that they score less than that on average… in fact it makes the defense useless.

The Heat are 14th in scoring with 108.6 ppg, 16th in rebounds with 44.5 per game, and 12th in rebounds with 1.8

Our prediction for Wednesday, January 26th is…. Heat 118 - Knicks 104

The Heat will beat the Knicks and finally cover.  They simply will not care about the Knicks defense as they will meet them halfway and then drown them in offense.

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Miami is 19-8 ATS when playing with 2 days rest the last 3 seasons.

Miami is 8-2 ATS in January games this season.

Knicks: C Mitchell Robinson (lower body) Quest ** PG Derrick Rose (ankle) Out

Heat: SG Tyler Herro (ill) Quest ** Pg Kyle Lowry (personal) Quest ** SF PJ Tucker (calf) Quest

Knicks: SF RJ Barrett, PF Julius Randle, C Nerlens Noel, PG Kemba Walker, SG Evan Fournier

Heat: PF P.J. Tucker, SF Jimmy Butler, C Bam Adebayo, Pg Gabe Vincent, SG Duncan Robinson

Knicks

Points: Julius Randle 18.9

Assists: Julius Randle 5.1

Rebounds: Julius Randle 9.9

Steals: Nerlens Noel 1.2

Blocks: Mitchell Robinson 1.5

Heat

Points: Jimmy Butler 21.4

Assists: Kyle Lowry 8.3

Rebounds: Bam Adebayo 9.9

Steals: Jimmy Butler 1.9

Blocks: Bam Adebayo 0.5

 

Knicks: Tom Thibodeau

Heat: Erik Spoelstra