SupremeCommander wrote:all I can say is be careful what you ask for

We are getting one of them anyway.

Knicksfan wrote:No poll?

Missed opportunity!

We have beef with both, but oooooohhhhhhhhhh how beautiful life is when a Knicks team beats and eliminates a Heat team!

Ugh, can I edit one in?

I want the 76ers

If we play the Heat it will be all the more fun when we win, but I will worry a lot about their tactics

BigDaddyG wrote:

Alpha1971 wrote:Todd, who of the two rivals have finer cheerleaders?

6ers aren't bad, but I'm going Miami 10/10. Speaking of Miami cheerleaders, Dolan should give Spo's ex court side tickets next to the opposing bench if we play Miami.

Why Knicks should be rooting for playoff matchup with Heat team that’s haunted them
By Social Links forStefan Bondy

As crazy as it sounds after the Knicks were eliminated last year in South Beach, their clear rooting interest for Wednesday’s play-in game between Miami and Philadelphia — with the winner heading to face the Knicks in the first round — should be the Heat.

And the main reason, which is so obvious it feels lame to type, is Joel Embiid. The reigning MVP was having his best season before undergoing knee surgery, and he returned to propel the Sixers back into the contending conversation. Philly, which hosts the Heat, is a completely different team when Embiid is in uniform, a bona fide threat in the East.

Its record with Embiid this season? 31-8.

Without? 16-27.

That’s the difference between the second seed and the draft lottery.

“[The Knicks] have no answer for Joel,” a longtime NBA executive said.

The Heat never had coaching problems, but personnel is an issue. They can’t score when it matters. Tyler Herro, who was supposed to be a huge lift to the offense after missing last year’s playoffs, has been a dud in the clutch while shooting 37 percent in fourth quarters. The Heat, not coincidentally, own the Eastern Conference’s worst net rating in fourth quarters. They’ve clammed up.

Can they flip a switch in the playoffs? Sure. Miami has done it before. As Spoelstra said Sunday, “The playoffs will let us know.”

Embiid’s ability to hit outside shots draws Knicks centers away from the basket, and the Knicks prefer a drop coverage because rim protection is high on the Thibs’ Commandments. Embiid, if at full strength and hitting his shots, destroys that shape.

He’s a handful the Knicks want to avoid. It’s a rare time their fans should be rooting for the Heat.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/16/sports/knicks-should-be-rooting-for-playoff-matchup-with-heat/

However, if we want to be an elite team, it should not matter who we play.
I don't really care.
I am just anxious to see how much better we really are.

SergioNYK wrote:As we get closer to finding out who are going to have to play on Saturday, I'm getting more and more frustrated. Usually a 50 win 2nd seed season means a cake walk in the first round. It just doesn't seem right we have to play the equivalent of a ECF difficulty in round one. If Embiid played 70 games, Philly would have had that 2nd seed. They are AWFUL with him. They wouldn't even have made the play in without him. And he's back. He's not 100% as we know but even at 75% he is a problem.

And we all know about Miami. That franchise has owned us the last few decades. Even as recently as earlier this month at the Garden. And last year in the playoffs they could have easily and probably should have swept us. Do not get fooled by their lackluster regular season. They don't care about it. Playoff Butler is a real thing. We have the best defender in the league in OG but Playoff Butler cannot be stopped. And Spoelstra just figures things out on the fly. Look, I hate this franchise and want revenge but I'm not sure we have the squad and this is the right time for it to happen.

Personally hoping it's Philly. Although we'll be underdogs against either team. We're really going to have to play our A game.

Yo we second seed in East and it’s playoffs! Get pumped!!!