Miami Heat might catch a break vs. Knicks in next two games... or not

When facing the Miami Heat, opponents often experience addition by subtraction, even if they're forced to temporarily subtract their very best players.

It's been a frequent phenomenon that the Heat, no matter how talented or healthy they are, lose to undermanned teams. And while the Heat have been undermanned themselves of late, without both Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, they were still significant favorites Wednesday against a Cleveland Cavaliers squad without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, and relying on several players whose minutes have mostly come in the G-League.

Naturally, the Heat lost, falling apart in the fourth quarter.

This is something to consider as the Heat encounter a New York Knicks team, one they beat earlier in the season, for a two-games-over-four-days-in-two-cities set. The Knicks are likely to be without star point guard Jalen Brunson, who left Wednesday's loss against the Orlando Magic in a walking boot. Brunson has tormented the Heat the past few years, in wins and losses.

He is the engine to everything the Knicks do, especially in the fourth quarter. The Heat have thrown every conceivable defensive coverage at him, but he's slithered to the basket anyway, often drawing fouls with his finishes, and the occasional flop. Wednesday, however, his spill appeared quite real.

Jalen Brunson headed to the locker room with an apparent leg injury at the end of Magic-Knicks. pic.twitter.com/ik7IBFvacm
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 13, 2025

As the Knicks await the day-after news on Brunson, and the Heat travel to New York -- possibly with Herro and Adebayo in tow but neither ready to play -- it's critical for the Heat to take whomever the Knicks put on the floor seriously. As Heat coach Erik Spoelstra noted prior to, and again after, Wednesday's flop against Cleveland, the Heat aren't good enough to overlook anyone.

If Brunson can't go, in either or both games, the Knicks will turn to Jordan Clarkson for more minutes, and the veteran combo guard has had some strong scoring nights against the Heat over the years. They'll also feed Karl-Anthony Towns more, which could be a problem if Adebayo is not available.

Either way, the two games matter. Miami is off to a surprising start at 7-5, but after the unexpected loss to the Cav-Nots on Wednesday, falling back to .500 after the Knicks two-game set would feel like quite a letdown. The Knicks and Cavaliers are the two teams that were projected be atop the East when healthy. The Heat need to take advantage of the times when they're not.

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