Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets Prediction: It Depends on Jamal Murray

Prediction for the NBA Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets match, which will take place on February 14th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available. 

The Heat have won three in a row and secured sixth place in the Eastern Conference, the zone of direct entry into the playoffs. In turn, Erik Spoelstra's team coped with Indiana (116:111) and Houston (97:95) at home, and Orlando (107:103 (97:97) in OT). In these meetings, Miami showed its strong qualities, first of all, work in defense. However, the team's shortcomings were also exposed – weak work on offense and difficulties in defense against teams like Indiana, which attack a lot from behind the three-point line.

The Nuggets outplayed Charlotte in the last match at the Spectrum Center, interrupting a series of away defeats that reached four meetings in a row. 119:105 – Michael Malone's team did a great job in defense, conceding only eight three-point attempts out of 32, only 25%. And in attack, they were unstoppable again, thanks to Nikola Jokic's twentieth triple-double this season – 30 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. Recall that Denver has been the leader of the Western Conference for a very long time.

A lot will depend on whether Jamal Murray plays. If one of the leaders of Denver comes to the floor, it is likely that the Nuggets, as in the first full-time match of this season, will smash Miami on a three-point line, whereas only Houston is defending worse than the Heat in this championship. Although even with Murray, Denver has a better chance of winning here than the opponent, contrary to the betting line. In addition, we assume a productive match – again due to Miami's problems in perimeter defense and Denver's far from the best defense from a two-point shot.