The Miami Heat are at the Washington Wizards in National Basketball Association action on Friday. The Miami Heat are 25-23 on the season, which is 7th in the Eastern Conference. Miami is coming off a nine point win at home over the Kings on Wednesday. Despite the win, the Heat are just 3-7 in their last 10 games.
For the Wizards, they are 9-38 on the season. The Wizards are coming off a loss at home to the Clippers on Wednesday. Washington is 14th in the Eastern Conference, and only ahead of the Detroit Pistons. The Wizards are 3-7 in their last 10 games.
The Miami Heat are -7.5 on the road here. The total for this game is set at 232.5.
Heat Sneaky Talented Squad
In the recent win for the Heat, Jimmy Butler had a big game, leading the way with 31 points. Bam Adebayo was strong with 16, while Josh Richardson and Tyler Herro came off the bench for a combined 38 points. Miami is scoring 110.5 points per game, which is near the bottom of the league, but have been competitive with their ability to defend.
Butler leads the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game, but has already missed 15 games due to injuries. Tyler Herro is right behind him with 21.2 and Adebayo is also at 20.6 per game. Miami has eight guys scoring double digits per game, as they added Tyler Rozier to their roster earlier in January.
The Heat will start a home stand on Sunday, as they welcome the Clippers, Magic, Spurs and Celtics to town. The next road game after this one for Miami is February 13th in Milwaukee.
Defensive Struggles for Washington
The Washington Wizards are one of the worst defensive teams in all of the league. Washington is allowing opponents to score 124 points per game. In the recent loss to the Clippers; they allowed 125. In that game, offensively Kyle Kuzma led the with 27 points.
Kuzma is the top scorer on the season with 22 points per game. Jordan Poole, who is in his first season since coming over from Golden State is second with 16.5 points per game. Marvin Bagley, also new to the squad, is third with 15.5 per game.
Washington will play two more home games after this. Phoenix comes to town on Sunday, and the Cavaliers will visit on February 7th. After that, the Wizards go on the road to the Boston Celtics on February 9th.
Heat Smash Wizards
Look for the Miami Heat to win this game on the road. The Heat are sneaky. While there record is not sensational, this is one of the teams that will be really tough to take down in the postseason. This Miami team has plenty of talent, when they put it all together. We look for the Heat to play well on the road here. Our final bet for this game is the Miami Heat -7.5 over the Washington Wizards.
