Bet On New York Knicks In Their Do-Or-Die NBA Playoffs Game 5 Against Miami Heat
The 5-seed New York Knicks' season is on the line as they host the 8-seed Miami Heat down 3-1 in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Madison Square Garden Wednesday.
Miami is eating NYK's lunch in this series. The Heat are out-performing the Knicks in three of the "four factors" and Miami alpha Jimmy Butler has been the best player in this series.
Butler is averaging 26.7 points per game (PPG), 7.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. New York's only win in this series is Game 2, which Butler missed after rolling his ankle in the series opener.
Knicks All-Star Julius Randle is getting dogged by the NBA talking heads and it's kind of deserved. Randle's energy has been beta and his playoff numbers have nosedived. Some people are blaming Randle, some people are blaming Miami's weather.
NYK's biggest issue is outside shooting. They are getting the 2nd-highest volume of wide-open 3-point-attempt rate in this round. But, the Knicks are making the 2nd-lowest rate of those threes.
Jalen Brunson is shooting terribly from 3 but is averaging 26.8 PPG in this series. Brunson could make better decisions otherwise he's playing well.
Also, New York also needs something out of its bench. NYK's bench is averaging just 15.5 PPG, which is the worst of the postseason. But, who else on the Knicks is going to show up?
Heat At Knicks Game 5 odds
Odds for the Heat vs. Knicks Game 5 Wednesday, May 10th from DraftKings as of 10:50 a.m. ET.
NYK wing R.J. Barrett needs to continue his hot shooting and can be the difference-maker in Game 5. Barrett is shooting 46.4% from the field in this series and 42.3% from 3-point land.
Miami has two elite defensive players — Bam Adebayo and Butler — who are responsible for Randle and Brunson so Barrett will get the easiest matchup of the three.
The Knick I'm expecting to step up in Game 5 is SG Quentin Grimes. During the regular season, Grimes averaged 16.3 PPG vs. the Heat on 75.4% true shooting (.550/.500/.857) with a +26 net rating.
Grimes started Game 4 and played 41:49 minutes. He went 3-for-7 from 3 and Grimes is a floor-spacing, 3-and-D guy. He is the type of guy that can break out in a home playoff game and role players perform better at home.
Knicks SG Quentin Grimes shoots a 3 vs. the Heat during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
No one is giving New York a chance to win Game 5 and the zig-zag theory is the best NBA postseason betting angle. Nearly 70% of the action at DraftKings is on Miami at the time of writing, per VSIN.
You don't have to be a professional to understand that seven out of 10 bettors don't win money in this racket. Would be shocking to see NYK get some home-cooking from the refs in Game 5?
We know the NBA has a history of extending playoff series. Hell, one of their former refs was working with the Mafia to fix games. Heat-Knicks will somehow gets to a Game 6 and New York will cover in the process.
BET: Knicks -3.5 (-110) at DraftKings, up to -4
The New York Knicks' Game 5 odds vs. the Miami Heat from DraftKings.