Knicks at Heat
The Miami Heat have already lost more games this season than they did last season and look to begin to turn things around when they host the New York Knicks on Monday. Miami has lost 29 of its first 50 games and will need to improve drastically if it is to have any chance of winning a playoff series while a return to the NBA Finals appears all but impossible. The Heat and Knicks both enter with three-game losing streaks.
New York expects to have Carmelo Anthony (knee) back in the lineup after he was rested for Saturday’s 106-92 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Anthony is averaging 24.3 points over the last three games in which he has played but his balky knee has caused him to miss 12 games. Miami suffered a 98-85 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in a contest that didn’t feel like an NBA Finals rematch with LeBron James no longer on the Heat.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (10-41): Injury plagued forward Amar’e Stoudemire is considering accepting a buyout from New York during the All-Star break. The former star has been a big-time disappointment in New York as knee and back ailments greatly diminished his skills. He has missed 18 games this season but recently returned from an ailment list that included knee, ankle and wrist, and the Knicks also have no plans to bring him back when his five-year contract expires at the end of the season.
ABOUT THE HEAT (21-29): Dwyane Wade continues to have issues staying healthy and has missed the last five games due to a hamstring injury. Miami has lost four of the five contests as Wade’s absence once again reveals a shortage of firepower. Wade has missed 15 of Miami’s 50 games, which makes Chris Bosh the focal point of the attack, and Bosh has shot less than 39 percent from the field in four of the last five games Wade missed and his lone outing over 20 was a 34-point effort against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Heat have won the past four meetings, including an 86-79 win in New York on Nov. 30.
2. Miami C Hassan Whiteside (ankle) could miss his second consecutive game, while the availability of PF Udonis Haslem (wrist) will be determined on Monday.
3. Knicks G Langston Galloway is 17-of-59 from the field over the last five games.