Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
Time: 9:35 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Spread: SAS -12
Total: 185
Betting odds c/o Bovada
Most wonder, at this point, when will the sleeping giant that is the San Antonio Spurs awaken? When will Gregg Popovich’s team go beast mode on the rest of the league?
NBA oddsmakers at Bovada certainly expect tonight to be one such occurrence with basketball sports betting showing the Spurs as 12-point favorites over the Miami Heat in the second of a double-header on ESPN.
The Spurs are just 31-18 and linger near the bottom (seventh) of the West’s playoff picture. But over its past 10 games, the Spurs have won eight and the Miami Heat are struggling without starting shooting guard Dwyane Wade. Wade is out 2-4 weeks with a hamstring issue, and the Heat have dropped six of its past 10 games, including the last two. The most recent was a 102-101 heartbreaker against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wed (Feb 4) night.
Hassan Whiteside, who is quickly emerging as one of the NBA’s best young big men, had 24 points and 20 boards in the loss. Whiteside is dealing with an ankle sprain, though, and is doubtful to suit up for this game. The Heat will miss his absence immensely. Over his past 10 games, the seven-footer from Marshall has averaged 14.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.3 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).
Expect a much heavier load on veteran Chris Andersen with Whiteside unable to go. Missing both he and Wade is a crucial blow to a Heat team that isn’t overly loaded with talent in the wake of LeBron James’ departure.
Tonight for the 21-28 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 23.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In the 23 losses he has played in, Bosh has averaged just 19.5 points and 6.4 rebounds.
The Spurs will be able to combat Bosh with the award-winning defense of legend Tim Duncan, though, so it’s hard to imagine that Bosh really gets cooking in this one. It’s not impossible, because Nikola Vucevic battered Duncan for 25 points two nights ago, but Bosh will have his work cut out for him without Wade there to draw attention away from him.
Bosh is able to do a lot of the same things the Magic center did though, from bringing Duncan away from the basket to finding cutters on the baseline. The thing is, even if Bosh goes for 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, do the Heat win? We know the answer is still ‘probably not.’
The Spurs looked vulnerable in the seven-point victory over the Magic, failing to cover the 12.5 point spread shown in the online NBA betting Wednesday night. It was primarily though that the Spurs just needed to maintain the lead it claimed in the second quarter when it outscored the Magic by 20. The Spurs bench is a large part of what renders the team so tough to beat. The Spurs outscored Orlando’s reserves 40 to 17. Manu Ginobili and his quasi-twin Marco Belineili can beat teams up from behind the arc, and Patty Mills can get going in Tony Parker’s stead.
The Spurs can go to any number of 13 players for production, and even coax decent play out of the likes of Aron Baynes, Matt Bonner and Austin Daye. All three would be useless on most any other roster, but coach Gregg Popovich has a system that can make players out of the least likely candidates. While Ginobili has regressed, and Belinelli’s skill set is limited, Pop makes both look unstoppable.
The Spurs have so many four and five pass possessions, and often times the team gets too unselfish, passing on easy looks to swing for threes. If a coach is ever going to have a quip with his team, let it be that the players are too unselfish. That’s a rare diagnosis in today’s NBA.
