The Golden State Warriors are struggling without Stephen Curry in the lineup. They’ve lost the last three games of the season, one of which was to the Orlando Magic.
They haven’t lost their third-place spot in the Western Conference yet, but they’re close. The Warriors need a win to get their season back on track. Unfortunately, they face off against the Miami Heat tonight.
The Miami Heat are leading the Eastern Conference, led by Jimmy Butler. Similar to the Warriors, the Miami Heat are coming off of a loss as well.
However, the caliber of the team that beat the Heat is much higher than the Orlando Magic. Miami was recently defeated by the 76ers, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Today, they’ll get a chance to rebound, in our Single Game Parlay, and NBA computer picks.
Game Preview: Golden State Warriors at Miami Heat
The Warriors aren’t missing nearly as many people as the Miami Heat are. However, what they are missing is one vital piece of their offense, Stephen Curry. With Curry out, their offense has suffered drastically, only scoring 90 points against the Magic.
Now, they face one of the best defenses in the NBA. On average, the Miami Heat allows just 104.90 points per game.
The Miami Heat might not have a great offense, but they make up for it with their fourth-ranked defense. This team has a two-game hold on the Eastern Conference, and they aren’t looking to surrender that.
However, a few players are questionable for the game tonight. Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Victor Oladipo, and more still remain listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
Against the Spread: Miami Heat -6.5
We’ll begin our picks with the who to take against the spread, which is a tough one. We’re going to go with the Miami Heat, based on the Warriors’ performance against the Orlando Magic.
The Magic is one of the worst teams in the NBA and has one of the league’s worst defenses. The Warriors only scored 90 points against them; we don’t see them doing better against Miami.
The Total: UNDER 213.5
This is a very low total, but we believe the game will actually go under in this one. The Miami Heat have one of the best defenses in the NBA, and the Warriors are missing Stephen Curry.
Because of this, we don’t expect the score to be very high in this game. In their last seven games of the season, the Warriors have gone under the total six times.
Win Margin: Miami Heat 1-10 (+165)
This is a great pick to balance out your ticket and earn yourself some extra winnings. We have faith that the Heat can cover the 6.5 points spread.
However, Miami usually plays teams pretty closely, and this game should remain within a ten-point margin. You’ll also have to take into consideration that the Heat could be missing a few players.
Double Result: Miami Heat / Miami Heat (-145)
Double Result picks are based on the leader at halftime and at the end of the game. From what we’ve seen from the Warriors, we don’t see them leading at many points in this game.
Missing Stephen Curry has dealt a serious blow to their offensive cohesion. This is a good pick to fill your single-game parlay and increase your winnings.