NBA Betting Picks: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat
Tuesday, 4/9/13, 7:30 PM EST, TV: SUN
Opening Point Spread: Miami -7
Current Betting Line: Miami -6
Opening Total: 194
Current Total: 196.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Heat Celtics NBA Game Preview — The Miami Heat have won four of their last five games

Milwaukee hasn’t won back-to-back games since March 17-19, as it comes off a 100-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors as six-point home favorites last Saturday, while going UNDER the total for a third consecutive contest. The Bucks are currently sitting in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming 2013 NBA playoffs, but they’d like to move up to avoid a first-round matchup with Tuesday night’s opponent. “We’re going to do everything we can to try and move up,” stated Bucks coach Jim Boylan. Milwaukee is 2-5 SUATS as road underdogs of 6.5 to 9 points this season, with the UNDER going 5-2 in that situation.

The Bucks trail the Boston Celtics by 2.5 games for the seventh seed, as they clinched the 27th playoff berth for the franchise last time out. Milwaukee is 8-0 this season when holding an opponent under 90 points this season. The team has dropped two of three meetings with Miami, but it has been outscored by just an average of 1.3 points in those contests. Guards Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are the players to watch offensively, as they combined to average 37.0 points per game.

Miami has won four of its last five games, including a 106-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers as seven-point home favorites last Saturday, while going OVER the posted total of 189.5. The Heat were led by forward LeBron James in that affair, as he finished with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting in 31 minutes. He has 36-double-doubles this season, which has set a new career-high for him in that particular category. Miami is 11-2 SU and 8-5 ATS as home favorites of 6.5 to 9 points, with the OVER going 7-6 in that situation.

The Heat are 33-4 overall at AmericanAirlines Arena, including a dominating 19-3 mark versus conference foes. Miami has posted a .820 home winning percentage since the 2010-11 season, which is the second-best mark of its kind over that span. Offensively, the team is currently shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc, which would set franchise-highs in those two categories if the season ended today.