Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
Time: 8:05 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Spread: CLE -12.5
Total: 193
Betting odds c/o Bovada
The Miami Heat are 22-29 and 13-14 on the road. The Heat are shown as 12.5-point underdogs in live NBA lines to the hot Cleveland Cavs who have gone 9-1 SU in their past 10 games. Miami, meanwhile, has won just four of its past 10.
The total is set low at 193 for this game, and the Heat average just 92.8 points per game. For an explanation of how NBA odds work, click here.
Hassan Whiteside, is looking very promising for the Miami Heat. Over his past seven games, the seven-footer from Marshall has averaged 15.4 points, 14.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. He had a 12 block performance in a triple-double on Jan 25 against the Chicago Bulls (14 points, 13 rebounds with the blocks).
Tonight for the 22-29 Heat, Chris Bosh will have to do a lot offensively. Bosh is averaging 21.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and two assists per game this season, and he’s been good for 20.6 points and 5.9 rebounds over the past 10 games. Bosh’s win/loss lines tell the story though: In Heat wins, he averages 23.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
In the 24 losses he has played in, Bosh has averaged just 19.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. Dwyane Wade is still sidelined with a hamstring injury, and the Cavs have a lot of size to throw at Bosh. Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov will both push Bosh hard in the post, and LeBron James may even see some time covering Bosh, if he gets going.
The Cavs are 32-21 and are coming off a 120-105 win over the L.A. Lakers Sunday (Feb 8) night. Cleveland ranks 9th in the NBA in scoring while giving up just 99.2 points per game. Kevin Love has been a colossal disappointment, but Kyrie Irving has continued to improve and LeBron James is still LeBron James.
Ordinarily, a 17 point, 10 rebound power forward would be considered good enough, but Love is capable of far more and in Minnesota was indisputably the best 4-man in the Association. In the win over the Lakers, the Kevin Love of old was on full display as he hit 11 of 18 from the floor and 7 of 8 from three-point range to finish with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
If Love can play more like that, or even to the level he did in the Feb 5 loss to the L.A. Clippers (24 points, nine rebounds and 12 free throws attempted), this Cavs team is the best in the East.
If Love is really going to hit under 40 percent from the floor, there is no way Cleveland can surmount Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago or Washington. Ideally, the talent level in Cleveland is the highest of this bunch, but the Hawks are proving solid team ball can be achieved to San Antonio-Spurs like precision with the right efforts and complete team unselfishness.
The Cavs just don’t look that fluid on offense, notwithstanding that the team has been on fire lately. It’s one thing for the Ws to be a causation of strong team play, but an entirely different case if it is really just the product of Kyrie Irving and LBJ destroying teams without much help. Mozgov has been everything the Cavs have wanted, but it remains to be seen whether he benefits from James’ passing skills or just continues to focus on banging near the goal as he did with the Denver Nuggets.
