Pre-Game: Heat vs. Knicks 1:00 PM

The New York Knicks will play another huge game today when they face the Miami Heat. The Knicks have won eight straight games at home and are hoping to continue that streak tonight against the Heat.

The Knicks have played exceptionally well at home since Mike Woodson took over. Carmelo Anthony has played like a superstar over the last couple of weeks. His last few games Anthony has shown that he can still score the ball. But most notably his performance on defense is making Anthony an even bigger part of the team. Tonight Anthony will have to guard LeBron James and he will have to be as intense as ever to stop him. Today is the day that Anthony can really put his name in all the headlines if he can stop James. This game is key if the Knicks want to catch the Celtics and avoid having to face either the Bulls or Heat.

This game will come down to the Knicks bench. If JR Smith and Steve Novak can be lethal off the bench the Knicks will win this game. The Miami Heat have struggles when it comes to their bench. The Knicks easily have the much better bench and today they should come out and prove that fact.

Iman Shumpert will be playing today, after spraining his ankle in the last game. Shumpert will have to contain Dwyane Wade today and that could be a very tough task for the young rookie. But over the course of the season Shumpert has guarded the best players really well. Today Shumpert will need to keep Wade from getting inside the painted area and force him to be a jump shooter. The Heat as a team like to get inside and score, but if the Knicks can make the Heat a jump shooting team they will win this game.

This is a major game that will be televised on ABC at 1:00 PM. If the Knicks can somehow win this game they will keep moving up in the standings. The success of the Knicks will come today from the cast of players surrounding Carmelo Anthony. This is the first time the Heat will play at Madison Square Garden this season. Today, on the biggest stage the Knicks will look to stop the Heat and continue their winning ways. Let’s go Knicks!