COACHING: D

It's a simple as this: Based on their April 15 matchup, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made the necessary adjustments to beat the Knicks. Not the other way around.

Mike Woodson keeps saying that he has a lot of respect for Spoelstra, but you don't hear Spoelstra ever compliment Woodson specifically. But he doesn't need to. Based on what he did with the Heat last season, this season and Saturday afternoon, Spoelstra has the upper hand in the coaching matchup.

Today, it started with how Spoelstra instructed LeBron James and the team to defend Carmelo Anthony. They fronted Melo in the midrange and post areas (mostly James and Shane Battier) and trapped him (James' teammates).

While Woodson had his guys mentally prepared coming out of the gate, Melo kept getting shut down, and from there the Knicks' offense collapsed and the coach couldn't pick them back up. One of the biggest reasons why is that he's been so used to running his halfcourt sets through Melo recently. But he kept getting clogged up and the ball mostly stayed on one side of the court, as the Heat built a big second-quarter lead. It was already too late for Woodson to recover and his frustrations came out in the third quarter, when he was called for a technical foul with 10:35 remaining.

BACKCOURT: D

This would've been an F if it weren't for Baron Davis' strong first quarter. Fortunately for their struggling offense in the period, Davis had Anthony's back, scoring 10 points. Davis connected on two 3-pointers (one on an Anthony kick-out from a double team) and he even had a one-handed, fast-break dunk. Yes, a dunk! But what that showed is Davis is still limited physically with his sore right hamstring. He didn't have the same hops as he's used to having in the past.

Regarding Davis' backcourt buddy, Iman Shumpert, he didn't show much, except for two defensive plays on Dwyane Wade early in the first quarter, forcing him into a tough shot on the baseline and then a traveling violation on the following possession. However, it was the rookie's first playoff game and he wasn't able to finish the game, after going down with what appeared to be a serious left knee injury with 6:03 to go in the third quarter. (An MRI later determined he suffered a torn ACL and lateral meniscus, and he'll be out six to eight months.)

FRONTCOURT: F

When your two stars, Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, who are your best offensive frontcourt players, don't show up, there is absolutely no argument for a higher grade. While the Heat shot 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) in the first quarter, led by James' 12 points, the Knicks were only 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) in the period. And Anthony's four points on 0-for-7 shooting didn't help. James did a great job locking in on Anthony, and he had help with the team's potent traps they've been setting all year.

Overall, Anthony seemed a bit hesitant shooting the ball, and wasn't the usual active and aggressive scorer that he is. While James played up to the playoff environment, Anthony seemed to be in regular-season mode. Melo only had his first field goal with about two minutes to go in the second quarter, which is when James went off, scoring 11 points in the period -- most coming late during the game-shifting Heat run. For the game, Anthony only scored 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

BENCH: B

"Mob Deep" (as Shumpert coined it) was the only positive sign for the Knicks -- well, besides Davis' 10 first-quarter points, of course. And who else but J.R. Smith, Steve Novak and Landry Fields? Smith, especially, came ready to play, not backing down from the bigger James on defense, confidently releasing from 3-point territory and attacking off of the pick-and-roll viciously. The Knicks will need those guys more than ever looking ahead with Shumpert out likely for a while and to help capitalize more on the pressure Anthony will continue to receive throughout the physical series.

DEFENSE: F

The Heat scored 100 points, and the Knicks only 67, matching their lowest total in a playoff game during the shot-clock era. Enough said.

Tyson Chandler not playing healthy (he was dealing with a flu and received an IV postgame) was a big reason for that. The Heat's basket was as available as a 24-hour diner. Overall, while the Heat came prepared to defend Anthony and Stoudemire, the Knicks seemed to be clueless trying to stop James and Wade. While James finished with a game-high 32 points, Wade had 19 on a very efficient 8-for-13 shooting.

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