The Miami Heat wrap up a tough road trip with a visit to Oakland, where the rejuvenated Golden State Warriors begin their homestand. The champs have a better team, are winning again, play at home, and will be more rested. Can the Heat overcome so many obstacles? Read on to find out.
Heat at Warriors
Spread: Golden State -15 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 224.5 points (-110)
Miami short by a point in Denver
With Hassan Whiteside patrolling the middle of the paint, the Miami Heat looked more like a team that took the NBA by storm during the early months of this calendar year. They returned to winning ways by defeating the Bulls at home, and started the road trip with a good performance in Denver, coming short by a single point. The Heat lost 94-95, but have played well and were a bit unlucky not to have a better outcome.
The main reason that the Miami Heat was not having enough success was their occasional struggles at the offensive end. With Denver defense not paying much attention to what the opposition ever does, the Heat jumped up in front 37-28. This was almost perfect execution – Miami shot 79 percent from the field. Second quarters have been the worst periods of time in previous three weeks for the Heat, but they managed to maintain most of the lead coming to halftime. The break didn’t do well for them – the shooters got cold and couldn’t buy a basket. And there were plenty of open opportunities. The Nuggets turned the game around and took an 8 point lead before the Heat finally made a run of their own and set up a tight ending. The Heat lead by one when Millsap missed both foul shots and the shot clock turned off. Dragic, their best offensive contributor for the night with 23 points, missed one foul shot after being intentionally fouled, and James Johnson foolishly fouled Millsap on the three-point try and allowed the All-Star to win it for his team. While the outcome may have left a bitter taste in Miami players’ mouths, it was an improvement the fans were hoping for. This road trip is more about coming together than necessarily winning for the Heat.
The Heat have another tough game before they meet the champs, as they visit Clippers on Sunday, making this game a tail end of a back-to-back set. I doubt that the schedule affects their lineup, but we’ll see, as Dragic and Whiteside might need some time off to rest.
Place: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Date/Time: Monday, November 6th, 2017. 10:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: NBCSBA, SUN
Atlanta losing streak extended to eight by a Houston barrage of triples
The Warriors coasted to yet another victory on Saturday evening, when they opened a 103-76 lead over the Denver Nuggets before the final period, and ended a highly beneficial road trip with a 127-108 final score. All’s well in Golden State. Since stumbling to a 1-2 start, Golden State is 6-1. After committing at least 16 turnovers in each of its first seven games, Golden State hasn’t tallied more than 14 in any of its past three. Signs of progress? You betcha.
Up by five at halftime, the Dubs forced a decisive turn in the game with a 24-4 run to start the third and scored 43 points during this period of play. It was a display of great energy and execution, as the Nuggets couldn’t stop any, even the most obvious and simple actions. Golden State, showcasing its transition game and ball movement throughout the game, finished with 37 assists, including a game-high 11 by Curry. The Warriors also shot 55 percent from the field behind the Big Four work. Curry scored 22, Durant 25 and Thompson and Green 15 apiece for the champs. While their offense was running smoothly, their defense made all the difference. All Denver starters were held to single digits scoring output and the Nuggets were allowed to hit just 6 threes in the game and committed 18 turnovers.
The backup guard Shaun Livingston was given a day-off to rest, but he’ll be available to play against the Heat. The Warriors remain in Bay area for the next 4 games, starting with Monday’s game against the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors Game Trends & Prediction
The game in Denver ended a very bad streak of seven plus games for the Miami Heat backers without a payday. They are 1-5-2 against the spread before the game in Los Angeles, and 4-4 on the total market. The Heat played most of their games at home, so there’s no way to tell how they respond to playing on the road.
The Golden State Warriors continued to improve on the bad start and frustrate the bookies. With third consecutive cover, they’ve regained a respectable ATS record of 4-6 this season. However, the damage was done entirely on the road, where they are 4-2. The Warriors failed to cover in each of the first four games played at Oracle Arena. The recent back-to-normal period also included four overs in five games, with the exception in San Antonio. Overall, they are 7-3 against the over/under.
Admi-Rank: The Warriors have regained most of their invincibility aura that they’ve started this season with, and are in a class of their own. The Heat are plain, average, and now that they are playing with a complete roster, the results should match it. Obviously, there’s large difference in the level of talent and results these two teams possess.
Anything but a Warriors win would be surprising, despite the Heat having worse results than their play. On the other hand, they were surprisingly sluggish in the first halves of their home, so if you are looking for flaws, look no further. Miami is known to start strong, so maybe they send a wake-up call early to the Dubs. Of course, that’s not necessarily a good thing, nor a guarantee of a cover, as the champions can turn any single digit deficit into a double-digit lead in a matter of minutes. Also, the Heat usually have lapses in their game, so they seem prone to exactly this kind of action. So, if you are looking to bet on the Warriors here, despite the 15-point handicap, you should probably get a much better price betting live. Or, if you are in it for a true game, a hedge double wager with Miami early and Golden State late bets.
For me, there’s nothing on the spread. My fair number is 15.5 points, and it’s rather poor practice to play such a large home jolly, so even if the price comes close, I’ll probably look the other way. I’m going after the under points. Both teams played much worse defense so far, but have shown promise in recent games. With the line very high, the under is more than an acceptable option.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread here)
Total: Under 224.5 points (-110)
