Climbing out of the hole they put themselves in isn’t going to be easy for the Miami Heat as they open a seven-game Western Conference road swing with a matchup against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. The return of Jimmy Butler should help, but the Heat have dealt with a massive amount of injuries and COVID-related issues leaving them as a longshot to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. Heck, unless they have a big run they might not even make the postseason, that’s how bad the season has been so far.
The contest between the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 11, 2021, from Toyota Center in Houston and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Thursday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
It’s a start, but still an uphill climb for the Heat. After losing seven of eight games, Miami showed signs of life by winning two in a row over Washington and the Knicks to instill some confidence in a group that has been lacking that attribute. And they’ll need it with a seven-game trip through the West that includes three matchups against the top teams in the conference. The Heat endured a brutal stretch going 1-7 SU and ATS to tumble in the East standings. They responded with a pair of straight up payouts hammering the Wizards 122-95 and beating New York 109-103. They get another tilt with the Knicks on Tuesday before embarking on their lengthy road trip. Miami started the week at 9-14 SU and 8-14-1 ATS. The trade of James Harden hasn’t been the demise of the Rockets. Some would argue it’s been the exact opposite. Houston rattled off a six-game winning streak and is 8-5 SU and 7-6 ATS since the deal. The Rockets enter the week with a record of 11-11 SU and 10-12 ATS and will play twice on the road before Thursday’s encounter.
Miami Heat
There is still time for the Heat to make a run, though the shortened season makes it imperative that they have success on this road trip. With games against the Los Angeles clubs and Utah it makes this matchup that much more important. Not only is it a winnable game it will also set the tone for the rest of the trip. And the Heat showed a little of the play that carried them to last season’s Finals in wins over Washington and New York.
The absence of Butler had a lot to do with the Heat’s offensive struggles. Upon his return Jimmy Buckets dropped 30 on Sacramento and Miami returned to its winning ways. They don’t need Butler to score 30 every night; just his presence has given the club a boost. Butler had 14 points, nine assists and eight rebounds against the Wizards and came even closer to a triple double against the Knicks with 17 points, 10 boards and nine dimes. Miami is 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS since his return following a 10-game hiatus.
Miami still isn’t at full strength with Goran Dragic on the shelf with an ankle injury. Erik Spoelstra used his 16th different starting lineup in the win over New York with Kendrick Nunn making an impact. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us and we don’t want any pity,” the coach said.
Houston Rockets
After coming close to the NBA Finals a few times during the Harden era, the Rockets never did make it and the club parted ways with the former MVP and scoring leader last month. It’s a good move since Harden played his way out of Houston anyway. Now the club can move forward and they’ve done a good job so far.
The defense has improved, which isn’t alarming since that part of the game was just a suggestion for Harden and to a certain extent Russell Westbrook. And although the points per game may be down the offense is more diverse. During their six-game winning streak four different players led the team in scoring. How often did that happen with Harden on the roster?
The Rockets will have to navigate the next few weeks without leading scorer Christian Wood, who sustained an ankle injury in a win over Memphis last week. Wood is averaging 22.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor. “Without Christian in the starting lineup we’re going to have to figure out ways to score. We’re missing basically 20 points out of our lineup,” coach Stephen Silas said.
NBA Odds Pick
Miami needs to tune up its defense and not having to face Wood is certainly going to help. We’ve seen the Heat play much tighter since Butler returned and this is a game they need to have kicking off a long road trip. We’re likely to see a defensive struggle with the Heat getting enough done offensively with their three-point shooting to get an important road win.
NBA Odds Prediction: Heat 105, Rockets 99
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