The Miami Heat are looking to bounce back into the win column as they get ready to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Miami on the national airwaves of TNT Tuesday. The Heat are coming off a close defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets, 102-101, as they look to extend the Thunder’s road losing streak to six while they also keep fighting to get back into the Eastern Conference talk.
Player To Watch
Jimmy Butler is the key player to watch in this game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Butler, who had 26 points and eight rebounds against the Nets, will look to be the leader the Heat need to keep fighting in the second half of the season.
He will need to be locked in on the defensive side of the ball, aggressive when shooting or attacking the glass on offense, and will need to create big plays in tight situations if he wants to keep Miami in front of this game.
The Miami Heat need to take advantage of the winnable games and Tuesday is an opportunity. No matter their injuries, they should win games like these.
Keys To The Game
- Dominate The Glass– Miami just barely won the rebounding battle against Brooklyn with a total of 41 rebounds, 25 of them on defense, but they won it. The Heat will need to continue attacking the glass, grabbing every rebound they can, and making sure to put the ball back up as they look for second-chance points.
- Move The Ball– The Heat had a total of 22 assists against the Nets, as they will look to continue passing the rock around to find the open man. Miami has great ball movement and the ability to create multiple variations of plays around the court of that distribution.
- Limit Turnovers– Miami had a total of 12 turnovers against the Nets as well, which led to 11 points off the turnovers for Brooklyn. Miami needs to control the ball, not allow any easy steals or mistakes to lead to quick points, and need to be careful to not allow any big-time turnovers to cost them the lead near the end of the game.
Miami Heat VS Oklahoma City Thunder Odds And Predictions
Moneyline: MIA -190 OKC +160
Spread: MIA -4.5
Total: 224.5
Prediction
Miami is coming off a close loss in a game that felt like they should have won, as they now shift their focus to a team that hasn’t found their stride on the road in the past five road games. Miami will need to be ready to deal with the injuries they have, as they will need to ride the momentum of the hometown fans in Miami.
They should walk out with a, 110-103, win over the feisty Thunder.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change