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

The Miami Heat regained first place in the Eastern Conference, and they have a chance to extend the gap between them and the rivals. They need to beat the Washington Wizards in DC and move away from the Bulls, Bucks, and the Cavs. If they, however, lose this match, it means that all these teams are going to reach Erik Spoelstra’s crew. Meanwhile, after a super start, the Wizards lost their pace, and are currently on the verge of the play-in zone, with a tendency to miss it if they continue playing like this.

Preview

Miami Heat (34-20, -160) recovered from losing three straight matches, winning two in a row. Both of these events were on the road, the first in San Antonio, 112-95, and the second in Charlotte, 104-86. The schedule should be a bit easier for the Heat in the next few days as it returns them home to Florida for a two-game stand.

In the most recent contest in Charlotte, the Heat routinely defeated the Hornets, limiting one of the most diverse offenses to only 86 points, eight of them in the third period. On the other side, Butler and the boys dropped 35 during those 12 minutes.

Jimmy B ended the game with 27 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field with six boards and four assists. Bam Adebayo did a very good job under the rim with 20 points, 12 boards, three steals, and two blocks, while Tyler Herro entered off the bench to score 19 buckets, five threes.

Washington Wizards (24-28, +140) started their five-game homestand losing to the Phoenix Suns, 95-80. It was their seventh in the past eight events, which is a reason for the alarm to set off in DC.

The Wizards didn’t stand any chances for winning against the Suns. The guests from Arizona opened the game much better, pulling away to a 12-point lead in the opening period, 33-21, and extending that to 59-32 at halftime.

Washington had only two players with double-digit stats in the points column, Montrez Harrell, who had 15 points, and Aaron Holiday, who scored 11 buckets. Kyle Kuzma had nine, Spencer Dinwiddie four, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ended the clash with eight, while Bradley Beal didn’t play.

Head to Head Games

This is already the fourth meeting between these two franchises in this campaign. The previous three saw the Heat winning twice and Wizards once, and the teams used their home-court advantages in all the matches. The first was in Miami, 112-97 for the Heat, then they played in DC 103-100 for the hosts, before facing for the last time in December, 119-112 in Florida.

Prediction

The Wizards are in problems, and it seems that they won’t get out of them any time soon. Beal is doubtful for this event, but even with him in the starting lineup, the Heat would be massive favorites, which is why we pick the guests to win here. They are a better team than the Wizards, and what is more important, the Heat is in better shape. For those who feel lucky today, we would suggest betting on the guests to cover a 4.5-point spread as well.

Pick: Miami Heat win

Here are the previews for the games:

• Raptors vs. Hornets
• Suns vs. Bulls