An NBA schedule is complex. Trying to fit 82 games for 30 teams in a schedule while being fair to all of them in terms of travel, rest, and balance is hard. There are going to be irregularities.
Those irregularities have shown up in the early going for the Knicks. For one, they just finished a seven-game homestand, their longest since January 2014. In response, the team is immediately going on a five-game road trip, tied for their longest of the season with the yearly West Coast swing in March.
But the other oddity is that, just 13 games into the season, they’ll be playing the Miami Heat (7-5) for the third time. By the end of Monday night, two of the team’s four road games in the first four weeks of the season will have been in Miami. After tonight, these two teams will only meet one more time: December 21 at MSG.
So, it’s fair to say these two teams will be quite familiar with each other despite the massive injuries on both sides. Norman Powell has deep-fried the Knicks in both meetings, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Landry Shamet eviscerated the Miami defense on Friday.
We know Miami can score, we know they want to push the pace, and we know they can shoot. It’s certainly been a sharp reversal of how they’ve played under Erik Spoelstra the last few years. One thing the Knicks can lean on? They have 36 offensive rebounds in two games against the Heatles, and that’s with Mitchell Robinson playing 14 total minutes due to load management and foul trouble. With no Bam Adebayo, this could be key to keeping up with a Heat offense that has scored less than 110 points just once (101 against San Antonio on 10/30).
Davion Mitchell shot only 32.7% from three in 227 career games with the Sacramento Kings, including two years under Mike Brown, but he’s massively improved since leaving. Since joining the Heat in a midseason trade from Toronto last season, Mitchell is shooting 42.9% from distance over 48 games and has established himself as a young dynamo starting guard. In two games against the Knicks, he’s scored 20 total points on 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from deep.
Norman Powell is doing what he always does, and with Tyler Herro continuing to be out, could absolutely get his long-overdue first all-star nod this year. He’s missed a few games, but he’s averaging 26 a night thus far. In two games against the Knicks this year, he’s scored 67 total points on a blistering 11-for-21 from deep. He scored 38 in the losing effort on Friday.
Pelle Larsson stepped into the starting lineup with Adebayo sidelined and is a solid player for his draft slot. You don’t expect much from the No. 44 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, but the Swedish wing can shoot it and hold his own defensively. He nailed three triples on Friday and is sure to be a headache if he’s left open.
Andrew Wiggins has settled into being a reliable starter a decade into his NBA career. When you think of all the generational talents drafted at No. 1 overall, you might consider Wiggins a disappointment, but when you consider that he’s a reliable starter in Year 11, that’s pretty good. He had an uneventful game in the win over the Knicks in October, but he was rough in a larger role on Friday, going 6-for-18 from the field and 1-for-6 from three with three turnovers and four fouls.
Kel’el Ware has been unable to stop the offensive rebounding barrage in the middle, to the point that he needs help from Udonis Haslem. He was better on Friday than he was in the first meeting, posting a 15-10 double-double, and has continued to improve from the perimeter, but he’ll have his hands full with Big Mitch.
No Jalen Brunson, no OG Anunoby, and potentially no Deuce McBride due to personal reasons. Mike Brown refused to dig deep in the bench after Anunoby’s departure in the first quarter last night, but he might need to do it tonight.
It was a very Thibs-ian game minutes-wise. Despite Mitchell Robinson’s foul trouble, you saw almost no Guerschon Yabusele or Ariel Hukporti. I’d assume Yabusele gets a bigger role now that Brown has had two full days off to evaluate the plan going forward, but could it also lead to minutes for, say, Pačome Dadiet?
And on the topic of the kids, what happens if Deuce can’t go? With no Brunson, it would make sense to start Jordan Clarkson, but it would likely allow Tyler Kolek to re-enter the rotation either way. Could we see Josh Hart start for the first time this season with no Anunoby?
Deuce McBride/Jordan Clarkson–Mikal Bridges–Josh Hart–Karl-Anthony Towns–Mitchell Robinson
I’d assume Brown plays a full nine tonight, so the Knicks are going to need more of what they got from Shamet and Clarkson on Friday to win this one.
This one is tough. Both teams are missing critical players, and the Knicks are not only going to struggle with shot creation without Brunson but also on defense without Anunoby. While they scored 140 without Brunson on Friday, I’m not quite sure how much they can weather the loss of OG’s defense.
Still, the Heat have no answers for KAT with Adebayo out. If not for Shamet’s explosion being the catalyst in the second half on Friday, he could’ve easily dropped 50. If he’s on his game, the Knicks can win this. If he has an off night? It’ll be a loooong night.
OUT – Jalen Brunson (ankle), OG Anunoby (hamstring)
Questionable – Deuce McBride (personal reasons)
OUT – Terry Rozier (gambling), Tyler Herro (ankle), Bam Adebayo (toe)
Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Place: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
