NBA: Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets Preview, Odds, Prediction

Jamal Murray‘s brutal ACL injury is a massive hit for Denver Nuggets‘ ambitions this year. They included an attack on the title, but it seems that such a scenario won’t happen in 2021. Jokic and the boys need to overcome the state of shock and bounce back, and the perfect opportunity for that is already this Wednesday night. Miami Heat come to Colorado following a tough match in Phoenix vs. Suns. If Nuggets defeat the Heat, that will send a message to all other rivals that they still have the power to compete with the top teams in the NBA.

Preview

Miami Heat (28-26, +140) lost in Phoenix 106-86 suffering the second defeat in the past eight matches. To be perfectly clear, the Heat didn’t look good at all against the Suns, who dominated throughout the entire game, setting the tone and the pace on the court. The key sequence was the second quarter when the Suns outscored Miami 30-16, and after that, one other moment closed the match.

Jimmy Butler rolled his ankle, and had to sit for a while before coming back. Butler continued to play, but it was obvious that he couldn’t contribute with 100% of his power. His status for this match is still not sure, so keep an eye on him before making any bets.

Jimmy B had 18 points for the Heat, a team-high, with 8 assists and four boards. Duncan Robinson added 15, while Goran Dragic scored 12 off the bench. Bam Adebayo recorded a double-double with 11 buckets and 10 boards.

Denver Nuggets (34-20, -180) lost Murray until the end of the year, which is devastating for this franchise. It was a stupid injury in the moments when the Warriors already solved the match. Murray scored 21.2 points per game in 48 games this year, with 47.7% shooting from the field and 40.8% shooting for three.

Who will step up, whether Denver has what it takes to cover up Murray’s absence; these and many other questions haunt the Nuggets’ fans at the moment.

Jokic was close to a triple-double against the Warriors with 27 points, 12 boards, and 8 assists. Michael Porter Jr had 24 points, but once again with a terrible three-point shooting percentage, 1-for-7. The young forward is 2-for-18 in the last two matches. A lot is expected from him, and this is the moment when we need to see MPJ stepping up and becoming a true superstar, which is what many predicted once he entered the league.

Head to Head Games

Denver was victorious against Miami in the first match of the campaign, 109-82. Jokic scored 21 points with 11 boards, while Murray added 14. MPJ dropped 17 off the bench. On the other side, Kendrick Nunn had 17 and Adebayo 15. Miami was without Butler, Dragic and Herro in that event.

Prediction

We expect to see many struggles in Denver’s attack, which is why 213 points (which is the line for total points) look too high. Miami already plays inefficient matches, and they will be even slower tonight coming into the second game in less than 24 hours. Meanwhile, Denver is going to need some time to adjust the game plan to the new circumstance, and all this is why we predict under points here.

Pick: Under 213 points