Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers - 12/3/21 NBA Picks and Prediction
Photo by Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana Pacers (9-15) vs Miami Heat (13-9)
Game Info: Friday, December 3, 2021 at 7:00 pm (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)
Betting Odds: Indiana Pacers -5.5 -- Over/Under: 208.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers duke it out at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night.
The Miami Heat have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost four of their past six games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss after getting blown out by the Cavaliers in a 111-85 home defeat on Wednesday. Tyler Herro led the team in scoring with 21 points and six assists while DeWayne Dedmon, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent each scored 11 points. As a team, the Heat shot just 37 percent from the field and 12 of 37 from the 3-point line but the writing was on the wall early in this one as the Heat managed just 16 points in the first quarter to fall into an early double-digit deficit. With so many injuries to deal with, the Heat had to go with a makeshift lineup that never clicked on offense. Kyle Lowry scored just seven points on two of nine shooting while Duncan Robinson finished scoreless on zero of seven shooting.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers have been in a slump as they’ve lost seven of their past 10 games and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game slide after falling just short to the Hawks in a 114-111 home loss on Wednesday. Malcolm Brogdon led the team with 27 points and nine assists on 10 of 20 shooting, Domantas Sabonis added 22 points with 10 rebounds and four assists on nine of 10 shooting, while Myles Turner chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Pacers shot 48 percent from the field and 10 of 33 from the 3-point line as they clawed their way back from a 12-point deficit only to come up just short as Chris Duarte missed the potential go-ahead basket with 5.6 seconds remaining on the clock.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. The Pacers are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 home games, 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a winning record and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games playing on one days’ rest.
Head to head, the under is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings overall and the under is 5-0 in the last five meetings in Indiana.
The Heat will again be without Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, so it will be up to Lowry, Robinson and Herro to carry the scoring load once again, which is bad news for the Heat who have struggled lately. The Pacers haven’t been at their best either, but they were only just short against a red-hot Hawks on Wednesday. The Pacers are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 home games and I think they will be too good for a banged up Heat team in this spot.
Peter’s Pick Indiana -5.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
