Pointspread: Miami -4.5 Over/Under: 185 The Miami Heat will look to bounce back from a tough loss to Oklahoma City when they take on the Southeast rival Atlanta Hawks this Friday night at Philips Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.
Miami appeared to put its demons to rest with wins over the LA Lakers and San Antonio, but a 96-85 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday night as a six-point home favorite once again raises more questions than answers for this team. The loss dropped the Heat to 46-22 straight-up (32-35-1 against the spread) and three games behind Boston in the Eastern Conference.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade continue to put up the points and Chris Bosh keeps pulling down the rebounds, but as a team Miami continues to blow leads and miss key shots down the stretch. Against the Thunder, it shot just 38.5 percent from the field and a woeful 17.6 percent from three-point range. The Heat are shooting 47.6 percent on the season which is the fourth-best percentage in the league.
Atlanta is 39-29 SU on the year (30-38 ATS) and in fifth-place in the East, but it is just 2-5 SU in its last seven games including a 102-87 pasting at the hands of Denver as a two-point home favorite on Wednesday night. The Hawks have not won more than three games in a row since early January.
The big three for Atlanta consists of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford. Johnson leads the team with 19 points and 4.9 assists a game while Smith is averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds and Horford is adding 15.7 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds a game. The Hawks are ranked 25th in the NBA in scoring with an average of 95.5 points a game, but are ranked eighth in the league in points allowed; giving up an average of 95.1.
These two teams have split this season with the Heat winning the first game 89-77 as an 8 ½-point home favorite and the Hawks winning the last game 93-89 in overtime as a 5 ½-point road underdog. Stick with Miami to break the tie with an outright win, but take the Hawks to keep it close enough to cover with the points.
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