The Miami Heat (36-20) are back at home after a six-game road stretch, as they take on the Brooklyn Nets (29-26) at 8 pm Eastern Time. The Heat are on a four-game win streak and sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 1.5 game lead over the Chicago Bulls.
Looking to keep the momentum going before the All-Star break, the Miami Heat should come out with another game of good energy. The Nets, coming off the wild trade deadline, are looking to snap a ten-game losing streak, while also looking to get back on track before the halfway point of the season.
Players To Watch
Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry will be the two main players to watch against the Nets. Butler is coming off a 29-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans and Lowry, who put up a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Pelicans, are both looking to carry their performances over to the Nets game.
Both played fantastic at both ends of the court and should continue that trend in this game. They will look to create opportunities for others on the offensive end of the court as well, being the sharing team that they are.
Bam Adebayo will be another factor to watch for against the Nets, as he is coming off a double-double performance against the Pelicans that saw him score 29 points while grabbing ten rebounds. He will be a key factor in the paint on offense and looks to keep up the dominant performances on the defensive end as well.
The Miami Heat will be on their home court after a six-game road stretch and look to keep the win streak alive as they take on the Brooklyn Nets.
Keys To The Game
1. Keep Attacking The Paint: Miami put up 50 points in the paint against the Pelicans. The Heat will need to keep attacking the painted area against Brooklyn and win those matchups there that will lead to easy points.
2. Strong Defense: The Heat had 12 steals, four blocks, and forced 17 turnovers. Though those takeaways only led to nine points on the other end, it needs to continue to be an area of focus.
Miami will need to force the Nets to make mistakes and take advantage of those turnovers by converting them into points at the other end.
3. Keep The Star In Check: With Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, and LaMarcus Aldridge out, the main player the Miami Heat will have to keep in check will be Kyrie Irving. Irving put up 31 points for the Nets in their last game against the Wizards and Miami will have to slow him down if they want to attain and keep control of this game.
Miami Heat vs Brooklyn Nets Odds
Odds Provided Courtesty Of WynnBET
Moneyline: MIA -575 BKN +425
Spread: MIA -10
Total: 219.5
Prediction
With Miami returning home after the road stretch, they should be able to extend their current streak. The Miami Heat will win this game at home against the Brooklyn Nets, 110-92.