There are nine games on Friday’s NBA schedule but a battle between the Miami Heat and New York Knicks brings plenty of action to the early window. Both of these seven-win squads can score at will and look competitive in the Eastern Conference, so even with a couple of key players missing on both sides, there’s value for betting cards here.
Here’s a Heat vs. Knicks prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday’s game.
Heat vs. Knicks prediction, preview
Miami Heat
Tyler Herro hasn’t yet played a game for Miami and Bam Adebayo has also missed the last couple of games with an injury himself. Yet somehow, the Heat are still 7-5 and finding ways to win games. This team sits atop the league in points per game thanks to a true team effort from six players averaging double-digit totals. Norman Powell is off to a scorching start to his campaign with 24.8 PPG while shooting 47.6% from three-point range on fairly high volume. Andrew Wiggins is playing well himself with 17.8 PPG while shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from three, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. also pitches in 17.0 PPG with 7.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Along with Davion Mitchell and Kel’el Ware, this ragtag group is holding its own. The Heat are 12th in NETRTG and will have to overcome the absence of their best defender in Adebayo, but they’re largely hanging in there while moving the ball well with a league-high 30.4 assists a night.
New York Knicks
These Knicks are 7-4 themselves, but they’re about to be battle-tested without star guard Jalen Brunson, who suffered an ankle injury earlier in the week and has been ruled out for Friday. Otherwise, the injury report looks clean for what feels like the first time this year. New York sits ninth in scoring and eighth in rebounding with Karl-Anthony Towns averaging a 20.2-point, 12.6-board double-double. He’ll be relied upon as the primary star with Brunson sidelined, while two-way wings OG Anunoby (17.1 PPG, 5.8 REB) and Mikal Bridges (15.6 PPG, 4.9 AST) each rise in the pecking order as well. Whether Miles McBride or Jordan Clarkson enters the starting five at guard remains uncertain, but each are capable of providing a slight scoring punch and spacing themselves. Defensively, the Knicks rank eighth in opponent PPG allowed, while the team’s NETRTG is fourth-best in the NBA.
Heat vs. Knicks pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Knicks are favorites at -5.5 with -218 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Heat hold +180 odds to win outright with a game total of 236.5 points.
Friday marks New York’s first game without Brunson in the lineup this season, so the direction new head coach Mike Brown takes with the rotation remains a mystery. However, replacing his team-high 28.0 PPG and 6.5 assists will prove difficult as not many players on this team are built to soak up major usage as a lead ball-handling option. That doesn’t mean you should write the Knicks off, though.
While the Heat have plenty of offense and a slew of high-level role players who can step up on any given night, they face a hostile environment at Madison Square Garden and are just 2-4 on the road thus far in 2025-26. Meanwhile, the Knicks are a staggering 7-1 on their own home court and have the most dominant player in the game with Towns at center, who may dominate the paint against Ware. With the league’s fifth-best REB%, New York sees a big advantage on the boards against Miami at 25th in the stat as well — those extra possessions will certainly go a long way in deciding the outcome. While the Knicks will miss Brunson, they have the pieces to play bully ball in the paint while kicking it out past the arc to shooters waiting in the wings. This feels like a chance for the home team to put up points comfortably win thanks to that edge on the glass and a superior defense.
Top pick: NY Knicks -5.5 (-110)
