NBA Picks: Miami Heat at Utah Jazz
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Miami Heat will head west to take on the Utah Jazz in an early rematch between two of the top teams in the NBA. In the previous meeting between these two teams back in early November, the Heat let a 19-point lead slip away in a 116-114 overtime loss at home. Both teams come into the game tonight playing some of their best basketball of the season. Utah has won seven of their last eight, while Miami has rolled off five straight. If you are thinking about doing some NBA betting this season, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the 100% signup bonus going on at Sports Interaction!
While the Heat have quieted their critics with their recent surge, they will be right back on this team if they don’t play well tonight in Utah. The Heat have made a living of beating teams that are far less talented, but have really struggled against the better teams in the league. Miami has yet to win a game on the road against a team with a winning record this season.
LeBron James poured in a triple-double the last time these two teams met, and Dwayne Wade had a season best 39 points in the loss. James seems to bring his best game when he plays at Utah, in seven games at EngergySolutions Arena he is averaging 33 points a night.
The Jazz had won seven straight before slipping up against the Dallas Mavericks last Friday, but bounced right back with a nice 94-85 win over Memphis on Monday. Utah is always a difficult place to play, and the Jazz have rolled off seven of their last nine at home.
Forward Paul Milsap had a monster game against Miami back in November, as he scored a career-high 46 points, looking almost unstoppable at times. Miami doesn’t have a big physical body down low, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Milsap have another big game tonight. Utah is also going to need a big game from point guard Deron Williams, who is having an MVP-like start to the 2010 season. Williams had 21 points and 14 assists against the Heat earlier this season, and the Jazz are 12-3 when Williams scores at least 20 points.
As good as the Heat have been playing lately, I still think you have to give the edge to the Jazz at home in this one. There is no question that the Heat have the talent to win on the road against the best, but until they actually show that they can do it, I think you have to side with the home team.
The NBA odds for this game have the Heat favored by 1-point over the Jazz tonight, which pretty much means you just have to pick the winner to beat the spread. If you can’t seem to figure out who to take, check out what our expert NBA handicappers have to offer in their NBA picks.
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