Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards Picks and Predictions Dec 28
Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards betting preview for Tuesday, December 28. At the time of posting, the Heat are holding steady as a 6.5-point home favorite over the visiting Wizards, with the total dropping to 208.5 points.
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| Tue, Dec 28 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Miami Heat -6.5 vs Washington Wizards |
| Total: | 208.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:40pm ET / 4:40pm PT |
| Arena: | FTX Arena in Miami |
| TV: | NBA TV |
Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards Analysis
The 21-13 Miami Heat will play host to the visiting Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. The 17-16 Wizards have been slumping through December, as they have lost 8 of their last 11 games. Miami won their third straight game by a score of 93-83 against the Orlando Magic on Sunday. This will be the third meeting between these teams after splitting consecutive games in mid-November. Miami beat Washington 112-97 at home and lost 103-100 on the road.
The Miami Heat have held things together through injuries and at 21-13 are in 4th place in the Eastern Conference. After not playing since December 6th, Jimmy Butler returned on Sunday with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Bam Adebayo is still out and the Heat will also be without Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris on Tuesday night.
Miami will also be without a few assistant coaches due to Covid protocols. Tyler Herro may be fired up for this contest after being ejected on Sunday with two technical fouls. As usual the Heat have thrived on defense, as they currently rank 6th in the league. While injuries and Covid have taken the life out of so many NBA teams, the Heat fight through the adversity and consistently win games.
Bradley Beal could return on Tuesday night, as the star guard remains questionable on the health and safety protocols list. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Thomas Bryant are both listed as out, while Rui Hachimura is questionable. The Wizards failed to muster more than 96 points against a struggling 76ers defense on Sunday. Without Beal for a 2nd straight game, they only shot 38.9% from the field.
Now they have an uphill battle against a Heat defense fully capable of smothering a solid offense. The Wiz were able to really on their own defense, but with the revolving door of players, teams are averaging 112 7 points a game against them in their last three games.
The Miami Heat are favored by 6.5 points with a low total of 208.5. The Heat have been playing great defense and thrive at home where they allow 4 less points a game compared to on the road. The Wiz have been in horrible form, they are 3-8 in their last 11 games straight up and 2-6 in their last 8 against the spread.
I’m not sure I feel completely comfortable laying 6.5 points in a low scoring game and have no trust in Beal returning for the Wiz. Instead, we will get creative and take an under on the Wizards team total of 101.5. Miami held Washington to 97 and 103 earlier in the season and that was with Beal and company.
I’m really excited about a player prop in this one. Jimmy Butler scored 32 and 29 against the Wiz earlier in the season. Without Adebayo, Butler has more chances to score in the paint, where he does most of his damage. The Wiz are dead last in the league in free throws allowed over the last 10 days. Butler is 3rd in the NBA in free throw attempts. We will also take Jimmy Butler over 21.5 points.
Official Play: Washington Wizards Team Total UNDER 101.5
Official Player Prop: Jimmy Butler OVER 21.5 points
Interested in placing a bet on tonight’s Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.
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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards Preview from GoldSheet
Miami regained the services of Jimmy Butler and won its 3rd straight and 7th in the last 9 games on Sunday at home against Orlando, with Butler looking a bit rusty with his shot, but scoring 17 pts. and grabbing 11 rebounds with 4 assists and 3 steals. The bad news is that Kyle Lowry missed that game as he was placed in Provid protocol, although Gabe Vincent has been doing some good things off the bench (14 ppg, 5 apg L9Gs) as have Max Strus (23 ppg L5) and Omer Yurtseven (13 rpg last 5).
The home team has won and covered first two this season, with Miami taking a 112-97 decision at the Capital One Arena on Nov. 18 behind Jimmy Butler’s 32 pts., while the Wizards returned the favor with a 103-100 win 2 days later with Washington G Bradley Beal (21 pts., 9 assists) overcoming a 29-point output by Butler. Wiz HC Wes Unseld Jr. is hopeful that Beal will test out of the Covid protocol and be able to play, important as he’s scored 25.5 ppg against the Heat in the first two. Washington has covered 8 of last 12 meetings overall but has lost last 2 visits to Miami by 15 and 27 points.
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Tuesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards clash, from a betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Tuesday’s NBA games, including this Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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