Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction: the Heat Is an Inconvenient Opponent for the Thunder

The Heat won the last 5 personal meetings against the Thunder, but in 8 home matches, they suffered 5 defeats. Miami may not have several key basketball players – will Oklahoma take advantage of this?

It will be difficult for the Heat to qualify even for the Eastern Conference finals this year. Miami is not in vain, only in 8th place in the table, something the club still lacks. Jimmy Butler is constantly missing matches, and now Tyler Hero, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, and Bam Adebayo have health problems. The Floridians already have a long bench, but they still have to rely on players like Haywood Highsmith and Orlando Robinson, who, until recently, did not get into the NBA at all.

Erik Spoelstra's wards suffered their 2nd defeat in the last 3 matches in the last seconds. Miami lost at home to Brooklyn with a score of 101:102, and of the trio of leaders of the Heat, no one realized at least 50% of the shots from the game. Adebayo had only 5 out of 15, Hero and Butler were more effective, but the combined 50 points from Tyler and Jeembo were not enough.

The Thunder is still only 13th in the West, but in general, the season is going well for them because no one expected the team would continue to fight for the play-in. The gap from the top 10 is only 1 victory, and in 4 previous matches, Oklahoma turned out to be stronger three times. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still the undisputed leader of the team, and of those who managed to surprise, it is worth noting Jalen Williams. The newcomer Thunder became a full-fledged player of the foundation, often appearing as a light forward. Darius Bazley lost his place in the rotation, and Jalen Williams also failed to justify the coaching trust. In the absence of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokuševski, Kenrick Williams managed to play in the center position.

Over the past week, the wards of Mark Daynault managed to defeat Boston, Washington, and Dallas. In the last meeting with the Mavericks, Oklahoma was stronger, with a score of 120:109. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points. LuDo rt, Lindy Waters and Josh Giddy hit well, and in general, the team played quite effectively in the attack.

Miami is just the best NBA team in defense in the paint. The Thunder against Dallas threw quite a bit from behind the arc. They don't have so many reliable snipers. For the Heat, it's important that Jimmy Butler plays, and with Adebayo, the Florida defense would become even stronger. Miami has already beaten Oklahoma this season, although Butler was absent due to injury. The Heat, in the style of the game, is just inconvenient for the Thunder.

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