After being absolutely blown out of Game One, 100-67, by the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks need to play with urgency Monday night in Game Two of their Eastern Conference opening-round NBA playoff series if they would like to avoid a 2-0 hole.
New York will be without Iman Shumpert for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, a huge blow on the defensive end. The slack will need to be picked up by Landry Fields and perhaps even Toney Douglas, who is easily the Knicks best remaining on-the-ball defender.
Carmelo Anthony also needs to play like the superstar that he is. Anthony only scored 11 points including shooting 3 of 15 from the field. If Melo doesn't play remarkably well going forward, the Knicks are sunk.
Amare Stoudemire also needs to play like he's alive. He needs to take more than seven shots and be heard from early and often.
As for Miami, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade just need to keep clicking on all cylinders. James outscored the entire New York starting five on Saturday (32 to 30) while Wade scored 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting.
With Derrick Rose blowing out his knee, the Heat have to feel like the clear favorites to come out of the East once again.
If New York has any chance to make this series interesting, a win tonight is essential in the most dire of situations.
TV: TNT
Time: 7 p.m. ET
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