NBA: Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Miami Heat hosts the Washington Wizards in one interesting matchup of two playoff contenders from the Eastern Conference. The Heat, as well as the entire league, has considerable problems with absent players, and that applies to Wizards too. Bam Adebayo will be out, the same as Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker, which is a bit deal for Erik Spoelstra. Meanwhile, the tired Wizards had a tough schedule over the recent few weeks. On top of that, Wes Unseld Jr. won’t have its biggest star Bradley Beal, and besides him, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Raul Net, and Rui Hachimura.

Preview

Washington Wizards (17-16, +200) spent an enormous amount of time on the road over the last two weeks, coming back home only once, to meet the Philadelphia 76ers, which was, in fact, their latest game. The Wizards lost that event, 117-96, snaping back-to-back wins over the Jazzers and the Knicks on the road.

The team from DC wasn’t able to control Joel Embiid, who scored 36 points and had 13 boards, and overall, they allowed Philly to feel comfortable on the offensive side of the ball. The 76ers shot 50% from the field, and had 50 rebounds.

Not having Beal and KCP was a big issue in offense, where Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 17 points. Montrez Harrell added 15, Davis Betans had 14, and Kyle Kuzma 12. The starters were shooting 3-for-16 for three.

Miami Heat (21-13, -250) has three wins in a row, all of them at home, and we can say that Spoelstra’s team utilizes this convenience in the best possible way. After beating the Pacers and the Pistons, they were better than the Magic in the Florida clash, 93-83.

The Magic was up until the end of the first period, but after that, the hosts took over the wheel, leaving the rivals in the dust. Jimmy Butler and the boys tightened up the defense, confusing the young team from Orlando.

Butler and Caleb Martin had 17 points both, with the not that Jimmy added 11 boards to that and three steals. Omer Yurtseven also posted a double-double with 16 buckets and 15 boards, and was a true refreshment, while Gabe Vincent and Max Strus scored 13 points each. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro had 8 points combined, which was one of their worst performances this year.

Head to Head

This is going to be the third meeting between these two sides in the 2021/22 season. The first one was in Miami, and the Heat won 112-97. After that, the Wizards responded in DC, winning 103-100 after a rough battle.

Prediction

Unlike the Wizards, Miami has one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, and they can absorb negative impact if one or two starters aren’t available. The Wizards will have a tough time covering up for Beal, who is, in fact, the only player able to compete with Butler and other top defenders from the Heat. With all due respect, Dinwiddie, Kuzma, and the rest aren’t at that level. Our pick in this match would be the Heat to win and not only that, but to cover a six-point spread. The odds on that are -110.

Pick: Heat -6