Hawks vs. Heat Pick
Can the Miami Heat win by a sizeable margin Monday night as they host the Atlanta Hawks? Game time is 7:30PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Heat are listed as a 12-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 204.
Atlanta is now 1-2 on the season after a 116-104 loss at the Nets Sunday afternoon. Miami is 1-1 following a 112-108 home victory over the Pacers. The four meetings were split 2-2 straight up last year, but the Heat covered the spread in all four. The total went under three times.
The Hawks’ leading scorer in point guard Dennis Schroder (23.3 ppg, 6.7 apg) suffered an injured ankle in Sunday’s loss and is likely out Monday night, although he appears to have avoided a major injury. Schroder had 17 points and eight assists before the fourth quarter injury. Marco Belinelli scored a team-best 19 points off the bench. Kent Bazemore scored 16 points, while John Collins had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Atlanta was outscored a combined 72-52 in the second and third quarters on its way to the defeat.
Miami center Hassan Whiteside (26 ppg, 22 rpg) will miss his second straight contest with a knee injury. Goran Dragic led the way in the win over Indiana with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. Dion Waiters had 19 points and two steals. James Johnson had 14 points eight assists, five blocks and four rebounds. Kelly Olynyk contributed 13 points, nine boards and four assists off the bench. The Heat led 63-50 at halftime and held off a fourth-quarter comeback by the Pacers to post the win.
Atlanta is 0-7 ATS in the last seven meetings.
Both teams are missing a very key player, but the Heat have enough depth to withstand a Whiteside injury in the temporary. Atlanta can’t afford to be without Schroder, who is the catalyst that makes the Hawks tick. Take Miami in a lopsided game here.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: MIAMI HEAT -12