Heat vs. Bucks Predictions 3/2/22
The Miami Heat visit the Milwaukee Bucks in what promises to be an entertaining playoff preview on Wednesday night.
Here’s a complete breakdown, including betting odds and free NBA picks.
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Wednesday, March 02, 2022 – 08:00 PM EST at Fiserv Forum
At the time of this writing, sportsbooks had not set the NBA odds for this game but FiveThirtyEight has the Bucks as 3.5-point home favorites, projecting them to win 63 percent of the time.
Both Teams Looking to Make a Statement Ahead of the Playoffs
The Heat (41-21 SU, 35-26-1 ATS) have won their last four games, including Monday’s convincing 112-99 home win against the Bulls, despite being without Kyle Lowry, who’s missed the last 10 games due to personal reasons. Gabe Vincent dropped a team-high 20 points on 4 of 8 from 3-point range on Monday, replacing Lowry in the starting lineup, Tyler Herro finished with 20 points of his own off the bench and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo added 15 points each. Kyle Lowry (plus-1.7 Box Plus/Minus) is listed as day to day and if he’s out the Heat should not rely on Vincent to score 20 points again.
The Bucks (37-25 SU, 27-35 ATS) had failed to cover the spread in five straight games before blowing out the Hornets 130-106 at home as 10.5-point favorites. Giannis Antetokounmpo exploded for 26 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, Jrue Holiday had 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Bobby Portis added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Khris Middleton had an off night, going just 5-for-16 from the field and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc but he still scored 19 points. The Bucks need better shot selection from Middleton if they want to beat the Heat.
Prediction
Miami will likely be without Lowry but they’ve proven they can compete without him and they have a very deep roster. Milwaukee has lacked consistency at times but they’re the reigning NBA Champions for a reason and they have enough talent to beat anyone, anytime, anywhere. The Heat have to make Giannis fight for his points, he will always find a way to produce but they have to make him earn what he gets and force Middleton and Holiday to beat them.
The player to watch in this game is Middleton, he has to take advantage of the extra attention that Giannis draws and be an excellent second option on offense, just like he was in their championship run last year. Vincent will have a hard time replicating his performance against the Bulls because Jrue Holiday is an extraordinary defender and I really like the Bucks to handle the Heat. Enjoy the game and find more NBA picks here.
NBA Pick: Bucks ATS at the best sportsbooks