A study in contrasts between surge (Knicks) and slide (Heat)
NEW YORK — What we have here is a study in contrasts.
The New York Knicks enter Saturday’s nationally televised matinee at Madison Square Garden on a fivegame winning streak; the Miami Heat enter on a five-game losing streak.
The Knicks enter 11-2 since acquiring forward OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors; the Heat enter 0-2 since adding Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets.
The Knicks enter off their most-lopsided victory of the season, Thursday night’s 122-84 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets; the Heat enter off their most-lopsided loss of the season, Thursday night’s 143-110 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics.
The contrasts are stark, the Heat hardly looking like the team that eliminated the Knicks 4-2 in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra the immediate imperative is creating a comfort zone for Rozier, who has shot 3 of 11 and 3 of 10 in his first two Heat appearances, the latter numbers coming Thursday in his first Heat start.
That attempt comes with Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. having missed the past six games with a strained left groin.
“Look,” Spoelstra said, “there’s going to be a few moving parts as we get Jaime back, as well. But it’s clear to see the positives with Terry. He brings us a burst of speed, a quickness, his ability to get into the paint. I think that’s going to continue to get better once he understands how important it is to our offense, how we want him to be him, and be aggressive. He was much more aggressive and assertive (Thursday) than he was the other night.
“Everybody wants him to do that. And he’s pretty dynamic. And I think that’ll help. And defensively, he’s so competitive. He’s got long arms. That’ll get better once he gets an understanding of our system.”
In a season of constantly moving parts for the Heat due to injuries and absences, the initiation of Rozier has coincided with the move of Haywood Highsmith back into the starting lineup at power forward.
“That versatility, that work defensively works for us,” Spoelstra said of Highsmith. “He’s really improved.
“Defensively, he fits because he can guard so many different positions. You don’t always want to just always switch one through five, but he can definitely switch one through four, for sure. And he’s proven that he can take on a lot of the different, difficult challenges in this league. He embraces that role.”
Then there are the Knicks, whose improvement has been exponential since the addition of Anunoby.
“We’re a really talented team,” Anunoby said after the Knicks never trailed Thursday against the defending-champion Nuggets.
“We’re building the right habits,” Knicks forward Julius Randle said.
For the Heat, the search for answers continues.
“We’re going to get there, as frustrating as this may seem,” Spoelstra said.
Jaquez available
Both Jaquez and Kevin Love traveled Friday, with Dru Smith, who is recovering from December season-ending knee surgery the lone Heat player left behind.
Love missed Thursday night’s loss with the stomach illness that took him out of Wednesday night’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He no longer is on the injury report.
Jaquez is listed as available, which makes Saturday the first time he and Jimmy Butler will be available for the same game since the Dec. 30 road loss to the Utah Jazz, with Butler then missing the next seven games with a toe ailment.
Constant change
Rozier became the 16th player to start for the Heat this season. The only players on the roster yet to start this season are forward Cole Swider, who is on a two-way contract, and Smith. It has added up to a league-high 25 starting lineups in the Heat’s 45 games . . .
The 77 points the Heat allowed in Thursday night’s first half to the Celtics not only were one off the opponent high this season, but the third time the Heat have allowed 70 or more in a first half this season, with the high 78 by the Raptors last week . . .
At a time with limited silver linings, Heat center Bam Adebayo for the first time this season has played consecutive games without a turnover. He played 39:31 on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies without one and then 28:46 Thursday against the Celtics without one.