Charlotte Bobcats at Miami Heat
Time: 7 PM ET, Apr 23, 2014
Spread: MIA -10
M/L: MIA -600; CHA +450
Total: 187
Betting odds courtesy of 5dimes
The Miami Heat won game one 99-88, and LeBron James improved to 9-0 in series opening games.
The Heat will look to extend its advantage to 2-0 at American Airlines Arena with a victory over the Bobcats tonight. NBA oddsmakers at 5dimes have set the line 10 points in favor of the Heat.
The Bobcats got strong games from Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker and Josh McRoberts in game one. McRoberts had a show stopping dunk over Chris Andersen to put the punctuation mark on a nice 15 point, seven rebound performance. McRoberts also hit three three-pointers and dished out four assists; blocked two shots.
McRoberts vastly outplayed starting Heat power forward Udonis Haslem. Jefferson has caused Miami to go with a bigger lineup that features both Haslem and Bosh, with LeBron James sliding back to the 3-spot. Big Al still had a nice game, hitting 9-of-17 from the floor to finish with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Bobcats held a plus-6 advantage on the boards, too.
Kemba Walker led the Cats in scoring with 20 points but had six turnovers to match his six assists. Walker will have to cut down on his miscues for the Bobcats to pull an upset over the Heat. The Heat hold advantages at nearly every position, and Walker must exploit Mario Chalmers and make the Heat floor general work.
Walker hit 6-of-15 from the floor in game one, but he was just 3-of-9 from two-point range. While he may not be able to count his his Bobcat teammates turning his passes into assists always, Walker must hit closer to 50 percent from the floor. The Bobcats need just about everything to go right to get a game in this series.
CHA Trends: 4-0 ATS in last 4 games following SU loss of more than 10 points; OVER 4-0 in last 4 road games vs teams with home winning percentage greater than .600; 0-4 ATS in last 4 Conf. Quarterfinals games.
MIA Trends: UNDER 5-0 in last 5 games on 2 days rest; UNDER 6-1 in last 7 following ATS win; UNDER 6-1 in last 7 games following SU win
Head-to-head: OVER 4-0 in last 4 meetings; Bobcats 1-6 ATS in last 7 meetings; Bobcats 2-5 ATS in last 7 meetings in Miami.
