Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Heat has immense depth, Wizards need Beal

Thank God, the NBA has eased the health & safety protocols which means the chances of prominent players being around for specific squads increase significantly. With the league relaxing the quarantine period from 10 days to 6 days, you can see more players returning from health & safety protocols. Anyway, in this game, a highly deep Miami Heat takes on the inconsistent Washington Wizards. Heat has 21 wins and 13 losses while the Wizards have 17 wins and 16 losses.The Heat kept winning even without Jimmy Butler while Wizards have shown little defensive grit without Beal and can get hurt on offense too without him. Beal is questionable for the game and his return can create a difference. Anyway, can the Wizards stop the Heat even with the Beal? For a quick look, jump to “Notes”. For total and result prediction, jump to “Expert Betting Tips”.

Heat’s form: Heat is on a three-game winning streak and they have won five out of the last six games. The Heat won around 60% of their games even without Butler when Lowry took the mantle and Herro, Robinson, Strus, Tucker, Martin, Okpala, Vincent, Herro, and Dedmon all stepped up to the stage. Backup Center Omer Yurtseven has also shown immense potential getting 16 points and 15 rebounds during last game. The team has won eight games and five losses this month and the team has showcased their depth. One thing that has worked in the team’s favour has been that they have played six games against teams with a record less than 50% win, so that has also helped them big time(in my opinion).

Wizards are out-of-sync: Wizards have won four games and have eight losses this month, which shows they have lost their mojo that they had till early November. The problem has been the nature of losses as the team has lost most of the games with a difference of 10+ or so. The problem has been that the team has lost most of the games even with their core intact that took them to a ten wins and three losses start earlier on. This is why there is a concern when it comes to the Wizards and multiple players have gotten cold for them recently. Washington’s biggest trouble is that neither can they build big leads consistently and nor they have the shooting prowess to climb out of deep holes.

Here are some quick-hitter related to the game.

• Wizards have put up 96(Without Beal), 124, 109, 98, 105 in the last five games;
• Wizards have allowed 117(Without Beal), 117, 103, 118, 119 in the last five games;
• Heat has scored 93, 115, 125, 90, 115 in the last five games;
• Heat has allowed 83, 112, 96, 100, 105 in the last five games;
• Heat has won three in a row, they have five out of the last six games;
• Wizards have won two out of the last three games but have lost their last three home games;
• Spencer Dinwiddie has scored 17, 21 points in the last two games. He has scored in the 6-9 range mostly this month;
• Omer Yurtseven has grabbed 12-15 rebounds in each game since last five contests;
• Kyle Kuzma has grabbed 10 rebounds each in the last two games;
• Gabe Vincent has dished 7, 8 assists in the last two games;
• Daniel Gafford has collected 5-9 rebounds in each of the last five games;
• Wizards Absent List: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto, Anthony Gill, and Aaron Holiday are in COVID-19 protocols. Bradley Beal is questionable for the game just clearing protocols. Rui Hachimura is also questionable;
• Heat Absent List: P.J. Tucker is questionable. Kyle Lowry is in COVID-19 protocols. Dewayne Dedmon, Bam Adebayo, Victory Oladipo, and Markieff Morris are out for the game;
• Take a look at the injury report before placing your stakes.

Points Range: Heat scored in the 115-125 points range in three of the last five games. Yes, there are times they have scored 90 or less but I think with Buttler back, the team can at least get past 105 against a struggling Wizards defense. With Butler, the Heat also gets more defensive discipline and his perimeter and other forms of defense are equally on-point. On the other hand, the Wizards have not scored 110 or more consistently and they have mostly figured in the 98-107 points range. I think the Heat’s defense can hold the Washington Wizards to around 103 or so. For me, the points range here is 210-220 points.

Prediction: Heat has been a better and deeper team than the Wizards this season. They have more options on offense who can dip in points regularly. In terms of long range shooting, the Heat has more options from the guard to big Forward position even if Kyle Lowry has been out. If Wizards have Beal their chances increase as he was scoring in the 25-35 points range before he caught the COVID-19. Still, even if Beal plays, I give the Heat a 60% chance of winning this game. I believe Buttler and the Heat will take this game 113:104. 

• Total Points: Over 212.5 for 1.90;
• Total 1 Over 109.5 for 1.90;
• Spread: MIA Heat -6.5 for 1.95.