Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction NBA Picks 3/20/24

Cleveland Cavaliers (43-25) vs Miami Heat (37-31)

Game Info: Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 7:00 pm (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)

Betting Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers -3.5 -- Over/Under: 204.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers meet Wednesday in NBA action at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers prediction.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have been in rough shape as they've lost five of their last seven games overall, but they are hoping to bounce back in this one after falling short to the shorthanded 76ers in a 98-91 road defeat on Monday. Bam Adebayo led the team with 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists on eight of 10 shooting, Terry Rozier added 20 points with eight rebounds while Caleb Martin chipped in with 13 points off the bench. As a team, the Heat shot just 39 percent from the field and 12 of 33 from the 3-point line as they played great defense in the first half to keep pace with the 76ers, only to get blown out in the third quarter where they managed just 16 points to trail by as many as 17 points which was more than enough to hold off a late charge from the 76ers in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in decent shape as they've split their last eight games overall and they will be eager to build some momentum after sneaking past the Pacers in a 108-103 road win on Monday. Jarrett Allen led the team with 23 points on eight of 12 shooting, Caris LeVert added 23 points with eight rebounds and 11 assists while Georges Niang and Darius Garland each scored 13 points. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 47 percent from the field and 12 of 32 from the 3-point line as they got off to a terrible start and quickly found themselves trailing by 15 points, before they came to life with 36 points in the third quarter to turn the tide and escape with the narrow win in the end.

Cleveland Cavaliers Player Facts

Jarrett Allen is one of only five players in the league to have recorded a double-doubles in 10+ consecutive games this season.
Georges Niang is one of only 19 players to have scored 30+ points off the bench in a game this season.

Matchup/League Facts

The Cavaliers are one of only two teams with two players averaging a double-double this season.
The Cavaliers rank 2nd in the league for Q2 opponent points per game this season (26.6).
The Heat rank 30th in the league for blocks per game this season (3.4).
The Heat rank 3rd in the league for opponent offensive rebounds per game this season (9.3).

Heat vs Cavaliers prediction

The Heat are going to be shorthanded again with Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro still out and they also have Jimmy Butler listed as questionable, while the Cavaliers will again be without Dean Wade, Max Strus and Donovan Mitchell. The Heat have really struggling for form lately, they are still missing a bunch of key players and they didn't look great in their loss to the 76ers on Monday, while the Cavaliers have been good enough to keep their heads above water despite missing a few players themselves. It wouldn't be a total shock if the Heat were able to pull off the upset on the road, but they're really up against it with the rising injury toll, so I'm more comfortable going with the Cavaliers to get the win in a close one at home.