Teams expected to contend for the Eastern Conference throne tangle on a national stage Saturday afternoon when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Miami Heat on ABC. Miami edged Giannis and Co. for the top seed in the conference last season, but neither reached its ultimate goal of the NBA Finals. The Heat have picked things up after a rough start slowly climbing the East standings. They have work to do, though, currently sitting in a play-in spot, but the Heat are just 4.5 games out of a top-4 in the congested standings. This is the second of two straight games between the clubs who meet for the first time this season on Thursday night.
The contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat takes place at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 14, 2023 from Miami Arena in Miami, FL and will air live on ABC. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Saturday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
This is a different Bucks team than we’ve seen in past years. It’s hard to imagine them hurting for offense with Giannis Antetokounmpo on their side along with a solid supporting cast. Since opening the season with nine consecutive victories they’ve been just a tad above average since going 17-14. They regained their footing a bit starting their current four-game road trip with a win over the Knicks. It was their second straight road win and payout after going 1-6 SU and ATS in their previous seven road tilts. They’re also 3-1 SU and ATS in their previous four games overall.
If the Heat are going to make a run this would be a good time to start. Back-to-back home games against one of the top teams in the league will be a test, though, for a team that just recently got over the .500 mark. And the club is working around a rash of injuries that saw four starters shelved for Tuesday’s game with OKC. Despite the shorthanded roster the Heat made NBA history draining all 40 free throw attempts, and they needed everyone in the 112-111 victory. They failed to cover the 2-point spread, though, suffering a rare cover loss. The Heat was 6-2 ATS in the previous eight games.
Milwaukee Bucks
As long as the Bucks continue to play defense they way they’ve been playing they’ll continue to win games. We’ve seen a reversal from when the club launched threes at a record pace and routinely scored 120 points. They’ve been decent defensively under Mike Budenholzer but the Bucks are getting more attention on that side of the ball. They have the second best field goal defense and rank inside the top-10 in points allowed and three-point percentage against. They have the third-best defensive rating in the NBA at 110.5.
The absence of Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton at the start of the season hindered the offense. And the club will have to play without its second leading scorer from a season ago with Middleton going back on the shelf with a knee injury after playing just seven games. Only reserves Bobby Portis and Jevon Carter played in each of the team’s first 40 games. But as long as Giannis is there the Bucks are a threat. Antetokounmpo averages 31.7 points and is the only player to rank among the top-5 in scoring and rebounding.
Miami Heat
With Haywood Highsmith, Orlando Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus joining Jimmy Butler in the starting lineup and only three reserves hitting the floor, the Heat were able to get by the Thunder thanks to some deadly accurate shooting. The better news is that Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson are all short-term injured with a chance that some or all of them will be ready by Saturday. If not the Heat has Butler to cover, and boy did he against the Thunder.
Outside of shooting free throws the Heat haven’t been very good offensively. They rank near the bottom averaging less than 109 points while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent on threes. I’m sure there were other games when clutch freebies helped them win, but none more than Tuesday. Butler scored 23 of his 35 points from the free throw line and the Heat made all 40 of their charity shots offsetting an otherwise cold shooting night. The Heat made 39 percent of their field goals and 10 of 33 triples, but outscored the Thunder by 26 at the line.
NBA Odds Pick
Miami did a number on the Bucks last season winning both home games by a combined 51 points and going 3-1 ATS in the season series. Both teams are dealing with injury issues though Miami’s is more concerning. If Adebayo doesn’t play Giannis has free run to the hoop and you know he’ll exploit that helping the Bucks get a win.
NBA Odds Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks / UNDER
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