Slowing down Jimmy Butler is Knicks’ No. 1 priority

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Jimmy Butler has been a handful in these playoffs. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Game 1: Heat at Knicks, 1 p.m. ET Sunday (ABC)

Game 2: Heat at Knicks, TBD Tuesday (TNT)

Game 3: Knicks at Heat, TBD Saturday (ABC)

Game 4: Knicks at Heat, TBD May 8 (TNT)

Game 5: Heat at Knicks, TBD May 10 (TNT)*

Game 6: Knicks at Heat, TBD May 12 (ESPN)*

Game 7: Heat at Knicks, TBD May 15 (TNT)*

*if necessary

BetMGM series odds: No. 5 Knicks -160, No. 8 Heat +135

Other conference semifinals previews:
Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns: Can Nuggets slow down Suns’ offense to kick off Round 2?

Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Sixers’ Joel Embiid (if healthy), Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown pose matchup problems

Everyone had the Knicks and Heat in their brackets, right? Surely few basketball observers expected both New York and Miami to handle the Cleveland Cavaliers and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, respectively, in just five games apiece. Yet here these classic rivals from the ’90s are set to square off beginning at Madison Square Garden at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

The Knicks’ defense smothered Cleveland while Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart feasted on the offensive glass, particularly in New York’s series-clinching Game 5 victory. Miami’s defense has ranked one spot above the Knicks, good for third best in the entire postseason, setting the stage for what certainly appears to be a physical slugfest on paper.

3 keys to the series

Can the Knicks slow Jimmy Butler?

Miami’s six-time All-Star centerpiece dominated Milwaukee to the tune of 37.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on 59.7% shooting from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. The Bucks’ inability to slow Butler, and the lack of time Giannis Antetokounmpo spent attempting to guard Miami’s leading scorer, has squarely placed Mike Budenholzer’s job in jeopardy. How Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks staff schemes for Butler’s methodical attacks toward the rim will be critical to New York’s chances of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

Story continues

Quentin Grimes, one of New York’s premier perimeter defenders, has…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-04-29 16:16:42

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