Free NBA Picks and Odds: Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs on ESPN Expert Predictions – NBA Betting Preview 3/4/11: MVP LeBron James will lead the seesaw Miami Heat on the road to the AT&T Center to take on Tim Duncan and the team with the NBA’s best record – the San Antonio Spurs – on Friday night at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN. The Spurs enter the game off a victory and have won 7 of their last 10 and stand at 50-11 – 1st in the Southwest, Western Conference, and NBA. The Heat have lost 2 in a row and won just 6 of their last 10 to enter the game at 43-18 – 1st in the Southeast, 2nd in the Eastern Conference – but what that record doesn’t show is how lopsided Miami’s record is against bad teams. The Heat are 14-16 against teams with above .500 records and 26-2 against teams below.
The Spurs have owned the Heat at home losing just twice in 23 contests, the same number they have lost all year at home going 26-2. Given the Heat’s struggles against the league’s elite teams and their inability to hold a lead they have a tough task at hand. “The urgency is there,” said Wade, who had 28 points. “Just got to finish it. We enjoy these games. We play them hard. … It’s growing pains and it (stinks). You look for the light at the end of the tunnel.” The odds makers at BetUs Sportsbook have the San Antonio Spurs a -2 1/2 point favorite at home against the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat are coming off a disappointing loss 99-96 to the Orlando Magic at home where they built a 24 point lead only to blow it and miss 3 late 3 pointers that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime. LeBron and Wade were great in the first half but the entire team seemed content in the 2nd half and not playing hard defense and intensely as they did in the first. “Obviously, there is a trend for us, where we do the same things over and over. We’ve blown a lot of 20-point leads; we’ve blown a lot of leads when we’re in control. We have to start being the aggressor.” — Forward Chris Bosh, after Thursday’s blow 24-point second half lead. Vegas odds makers have the Miami Heat +120 to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship.
The Spurs are coming off a 109-99 win at the Cleveland Cavaliers to move to a tidy 35-24-2 ATS for the season. Guard George Hill led the Spurs with 22 points while DeJuan Blair added 14 points and pulled down 10 boards. The total has gone UNDER in 9 of last 10 games when playing at home against Miami. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 195 1/2 points combined of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.
MATCHUP: Miami (43-18) at San Antonio (50-11)
GAME TIME: 9:35 PM EST
TELEVISION: ESPN
Recent Heat and Spurs NBA Betting Odds Trends:
Miami: Over is 7-1 in MIA last 8 vs. Western Conference.
Over is 10-4 in MIA last 14 road games.
San Antonio: Under is 16-5 in SA last 21 home games.
Over is 7-3 in SA last 10 games as a favorite.
Head to Head: Under is 18-2 in the last 20 meetings.
Opening Vegas Odds from Las Vegas
Favorite: San Antonio Spurs +2.5
Total: O/U 195.5
* These are the Morning Lines at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas
Rich Fritz’s Heat and Spurs Free NBA Picks 3/4:
Play San Antonio -2
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