The Miami Heat will try to get back rolling — while adding to the misery of their foes — when they visit the Barclays Center on Thursday night to take on the Brooklyn Nets. The Heat (41-21) are the top team in the Eastern Conference, while the Nets (32-31) are in the eighth spot in the standings. Brooklyn has lost 15 of its last 18 games, including consecutive losses to Toronto, and tumbled from the top of the East. It still has hopes of contending, but first it needs to climb out of a play-in spot, and it is just two games ahead of both the No. 9 Hornets and 10th-place Hawks. It won’t have an easy time against the Heat, who have won nine of their past 11 games and come in off a tough 120-119 loss after blowing a big lead to the Bucks on Wednesday.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in Brooklyn, N.Y. Miami is a 2.5-point favorite in Caesars Sportsbook’s latest Heat vs. Nets odds, and the over-under for total points is set at 222. Before making any Nets vs. Heat picks, you need to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the red-hot SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model enters Week 19 of the 2021-22 NBA season on a stunning 71-44 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning over $2,100. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has broken down the Heat vs. Nets matchup from every angle and just revealed its coveted picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the NBA odds and betting lines for Nets vs. Heat:
- Nets vs. Heat spread: Miami -2.5
- Nets vs. Heat over-under: 222 points
- Nets vs. Heat money line: Miami -140, Brooklyn +120
- MIA: Tyler Herro is averaging 22.8 points over the past six games
- BKN: Seth Curry has hit 22 of 47 3-point tries in seven games
Featured Game | Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat
Why the Heat can cover
Miami is 21-13-1 ATS on the road this season, going 11-8-1 as a favorite, and it has won six of its last seven against conference foes. It is among the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding opponents to 104.7 points per game (fifth in the league) and just 44.4 percent shooting (fifth) entering Wednesday. It was the first team to hold DeMar DeRozan under 20 points in his previous 21 games on Monday, and opponents average less than 42 rebounds per game. The Heat have a plus-2.7 rebound differential, fifth-best in the league, and Brooklyn is minus-0.3 (17th).
Jimmy Butler does it all, leading the Heat in scoring (21.7 per game) while grabbing 6.3 rebounds, dishing out 5.8 assists and adding 1.8 steals. P.J. Tucker leads the league in 3-point shooting at 45.1 percent, and Tyler Herro has been stepping up big-time recently. He had 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Wednesday’s loss and has scored at least 20 points in four straight games. The Heat have covered the spread in seven of their past 11.
Why the Nets can cover
Brooklyn could catch Miami looking ahead to its long home-stand. The Heat, who will be without Kyle Lowry (personal) are playing a back-to-back on the road before returning to Miami for 11 of their next 12 games. They could be fatigued after a game that went to the wire against the defending NBA champs. The Nets are expected to have Kevin Durant back after he missed almost two months with a sprained knee ligament. He averages a team-high 29.3 points, which would rank third in the NBA if he qualified.
The Nets have a sense of urgency and should be fired up after a game they thought they should have won. James Johnson scored 19 on Tuesday, Seth Curry had 18 and LaMarcus Aldridge added 16. Curry is hitting 46.8 percent of his 3-pointers since coming over in the James Harden trade. He is averaging 17.9 points and has stepped up with Joe Harris (ankle) out, Kyrie Irving out (vaccine status) for home games and Ben Simmons (conditioning) not yet ready to play. Nets opponents are hitting just 33.8 percent from 3-point range (eighth in NBA).
How to make Heat vs. Nets picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning under on the total, projecting 218 combined points. It also says one side of the spread has all the value. You can only get the model’s Nets vs. Heat pick at SportsLine.
So who wins the Heat vs. Nets matchup on Thursday night? And which side of the spread has all the value? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of Nets vs. Heat to back Thursday, all from the advanced model on a 71-44 run on its top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
