Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat Preview and Prediction (3/10/23)
Moneyline: Cavaliers -120, Heat +100
Spread: Cavaliers -1.5, Heat +1.5
Total: 213.5
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat Betting Odds Breakdown
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be in Miami to finish off back-to-back games with the Heat on Friday.
Cleveland is coming into this game as the favorite at -1.5, and the over/under is sitting at 213.5 points. Along with that, the moneyline is sitting at -120 for Cleveland and +100 for Miami.
Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
Cleveland is coming into this game at 42-26, which has them sitting at fourth place in the eastern conference.
Cleveland has had a very solid season so far, but there is one problem with their game that needs to be fixed when the playoffs come around. It seems like the Cavaliers tend to fall behind on the scoreboard, and then try to make a comeback in the fourth quarter. For Cleveland this year, it is true that they play some very good basketball in the fourth quarter, which is why they have so many comeback wins. But doing stuff like this every night and being consistent at it is nearly impossible, so they need to fix it because in the playoffs, many teams will not let them have a fourth quarter rally.
Something that Cleveland may not have to worry about as much in this game as they would in other games is trying to defend the three point line. They will still have to guard it well because any NBA team can catch on fire beyond the arc, but the Miami Heat haven’t really done that much this year. With them shooting just under 34% from the field this season, which has them at 27th among all NBA teams, the Cavaliers may not have to worry about guarding the three point line as much. And based on their last game against Miami, where the Heat shot south of 30% from three, they should be able to guard the three point line pretty well.
Miami Heat Preview
The Heat are coming into this game at 35-32, and they have been having a pretty rough time recently.
Miami has not been too great this season after being the number one seed in the eastern conference last year, and they will be trying to avoid the play-in game down the stretch. One of the biggest problems for the Heat this year is that they just have not been consistent on the offensive side of the ball. Their shooting percentage has been the worst in the league this season at about 45%, and the biggest success that they have had on offense this season is that they are one of the best teams in the league with free throw percentage at 83%. They have definitely taken a step backward after last season, and they need to change something before the playoffs come around.
One of the most entertaining matchups in the last game that these two teams faced off in was between Jarrett Allen and Bam Adebayo. These are two incredibly physical players, and they are also some great defenders. The Cavaliers do like giving their big men the ball pretty often, and you can expect someone like Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley to have a lot of resistance from Bam Adebayo down low. It wouldn’t be surprising if this is a very physical matchup, so it should be a fun one to watch.
