Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks
Thursday, 1/5/12, 8:00 PM EST, TV: TNT
Opening Point Spread: Miami -3
Current Betting Line: Miami -2
Opening Total: 189
Current Total: 188.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Miami will have revenge on its mind after being handed its first loss of the season by Atlanta just two games back, dropping a 100-92 contest as 9.5-point home favorites. The Heat are a bit banged up with guard Dwyane Wade suffering a foot injury, while star forward LeBron James twisted his ankle in last night’s 118-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Head coach Erik Spoelstra knows his squad will be challenged in trying to break Atlanta’s zone defense if either player is missing from the lineup. Miami is 5-5 ATS as road favorite of three points or less the last two-plus seasons.
The Heat won three of four meetings in this particular series a year ago, but are just 16-27 in games played in Atlanta overall. Miami was led offensively by James in the first game against these teams, scoring 28 points and grabbing seven rebounds with six assists. Wade contributed just 12 points, but did manage to dish out 10 assists. Entering tonight’s contest, the Heat have won eight consecutive road games dating back to last season.
Atlanta returns home after a three-game road trip and has alternated wins and losses over its last four games. The Hawks have been playing great defense throughout the early portion of the 2011-12 campaign, going ‘under’ the total in five of six contests. Guard Joe Johnson is the main player offensively, averaging 16.0 points, but that particular number is 2.2 points less than what he poured in a night last year. It’s important to note that the team’s average age of 29 years, 77 days, makes it the second-oldest team in the NBA. Atlanta is 6-2 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less.
The Hawks are undefeated in two home games this season inside Philips Arena, but those victories came against the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets. Johnson scored 21 points in the first meeting between these teams, but has been limited to just 11.7 points per game in dropping three consecutive home games against tonight’s opponent. Atlanta has managed to average just 83.7 points during that three-game losing streak.
Bettors will likely back the Heat due to their 5-1 ATS mark as a favorite of 4.5 or less points, while the Hawks are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings.
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