NBA Handicapping Preview: Utah Jazz at Miami Heat

Utah Jazz at Miami Heat
Tuesday, 11/9/10, 7:30 PM EST; TV: NBA TV
Opening Point Spread: Miami -10
Current Betting Line: Miami -10
Opening Total: 192.5
Current Total: 192

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has averaged 32.3 points in six career home games against Utah

Utah is set to start a four-game road trip after picking up a 109-107 double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Saturday. One-time All-Star Andrei Kirilenko played a role in the victory, scoring 18 points and hitting a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter and two critical free throws in the second overtime. The team is hoping its a turnaround for its highest-paid player, considering the Jazz are 3-1 when he scores 10 points or more. “I’m definitely planning to be more aggressive,” Kirilenko stated. Utah has averaged 118.0 points while shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range in its victories, while managing just 86.7 points on 22.5 percent from beyond the arc in losses. The squad is 2-4 ATS this season and 2-0 ATS when playing two two days rest. The NBA lines page has them listed as a double-digit underdog.

The Jazz are 28-19 all-time against the Heat with a 17-7 record at home and 11-12 mark on the road. Utah has dropped its last seven games played at Miami and must contain guard Dwyane Wade to end the drought. Wade has led the Heat in scoring in 11 of the past 13 meetings. Offensively, the team relies heavily on a guard of its own, with Deron Williams scoring 30 points in Saturday’s win. The All-Star point guard is averaging 22.8 points on 48.6 percent shooting in the last four games after scoring just 30 points combined in the first two. Utah’s rebounding woes continued despite the win against Los Angeles, with the Clippers grabbing 20 more boards.

Miami opened up a six-game homestand and delivered yet another double-digit victory over the New Jersey Nets. The game marked the first time the “superstar trio” each managed to score at least 20 points in the same contest. Experts are starting to believe that the team is making great strides in working together as a team. “We’re starting to get more of a comfort zone,” said Wade. “We can look at the next seven as hopefully being better than we were in the first seven.” He will play a major part in this contest, scoring 32.3 points in six career home games against Utah. The Heat will also rely upon forward LeBron James, who has scored 33.3 points per game against the Jazz since the 2007-08 season as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team is 4-3 ATS this season and the total is 3-4 Over/Under in those contests.

The Heat are outscoring teams by an average of 13.2 points per game and holding opponents to just 40.4 percent shooting from the floor. Miami has been dealing with rebounding issues and an adjustment must be made by forward Chris Bosh specifically. “I think we have to get used to teams missing so much, not to be funny or anything,” he stated. “But we’re holding teams to a low percentage and that’s a lot of misses.” Ball movement hasn’t been a problem over the past four games, as the team has dished out 98 assists over that span.

Bettors will find that the Jazz are 21-7-1 ATS in their last 29 games versus the Eastern Conference, while the Heat are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings in Miami.