The 3-0 San Antonio Spurs hope to extend their winning streak while waiting on Leonard to recover from his quad injury but won’t have an easy task ahead. The Miami Heat won both of their games at home and might get their own injured star right in time for the game. ESPN will make sure you don’t miss a second of what will surely be a thrilling game, and we got you covered if you want to earn money on it as well.
Spurs at Heat
Spread: San Antonio Spurs -3.5 (-110)
Total: Over/Under 195 (-110)
The Spurs down Raptors, still perfect
The Spurs returned home after a short trip to Chicago and have continued to get it done with a 101-97 final score victory over the Raptors. This was a tightly-contested one for the most part. Toronto’s tenacious defense showed up early, forcing five quick turnovers and bothered the Spurs ball movement better than most teams do. The Spurs had averaged just 11 TOs in their first two games, but ended up with 20 in this one.
With Kawhi Leonard unavailable for the third game in a row, Ibaka and DeRozan had their way in the first half as both were in double-digits. Still, Green and Gay woke up and managed to match their contribution and tie the game for the Spurs at halftime. Green was once again very good, scoring at least 17 points for the second time this season and he played it both ways, with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Dejounte Murray picked up the pace in the third, earning himself a nice points-rebounds double-double before even entering the fourth quarter. After a small Toronto run, the Spurs backup center Louvergne had to exit the game early due to injury. Popovich sent out a small lineup and it worked as the Spurs began to create separation for the first time in the game. Aldridge sealed the deal in the end, making some clutch shots and forcing Ibaka to foul out.
The Spurs struggled with shooting the ball once again. After barely extending their streak of 900+ plus games with at least one three made in Chicago, the outside shooters were cold again – they went 5-for-20 from the outside. Overall, the Spurs connected on 44.4 percent of their shots. They won with their team defense – no surprise here – and by creating a big discrepancy on the glass (55-34). Toronto played without their injured center Valanciunas, and the Spurs made the best out of it by going after offensive rebounds that led to second chance points.
Place: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 25th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
Guards carry the Heat in Whiteside’s absence
The Miami Heat have won their second consecutive home game with a 104-93 score over the Atlanta Hawks, in what was a highly competitive game despite each side missing their star players. The Heat played without center Whiteside for the second time in the row, while Schroder and Ilyasova were out for Atlanta. The Heat was the more rested team, and had more depth for this meeting, and it showed.
They controlled most of the game with a team approach, striking Hawks defense in waves. They got separation in the second quarter when Ellington heated up and tied the franchise record for three-pointers made in a quarter with 6. It was all he had done the entire game, but other picked up. Richardson (21) and Dragic (19) came through in the clutch, after the Hawks used 29-9 run to tie the game. Jordan Mickey subbed in for injured Whiteside, but was ineffective and played only 14 minutes. Instead, the Heat used small lineups with Olynyk and even James Johnson at the five spot. The athleticism of their wings troubled the Hawks and the Heat won it deservedly.
Whiteside is without an official timetable, but with the injury being of a day-to-day variety, we could see him returning soon. The game against the Spurs will be televised nationally, and the Heat probably needs him to match Spurs starting lineup size, so a wild guess is that he plays. Check out the team news on game day if you want to make sure.
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat Game Trends & Prediction
The Spurs are officially 2-1 against the spread, because the 10-point win failed to cover the closing line in Chicago, but this doesn’t change the fact that they are being severely underrated. We had them against Minnesota, and if you had been following my previews, you might remember what I said: if you go by the names, you’d might want to bet against the Spurs. This general consensus has led to superb odds on this team and I hope you made the best out of the situation. The Spurs total points lines have stayed consistent during the first three games, hovering around 201-203 points. Twice, it was too much. They didn’t shoot the ball well, they take away things that opposing offense like to do and this results in unders despite the low lines.
Miami is slightly overrated at the start of this season, as the bookies had it enough of their success from this spring. They faded any value from them and this caused 0-2-1 early record against the spread. In their last game, they were an 11-point favorite against the Hawks, so the outcome was a push. After the initial two overs, this game failed to reach the set total points line, resulting in an under. This is the third game of the 6-game home stand for the Heat.
A unique ranking system – AdmiRank helps you understand how good NBA teams are on a scale to 100. Miami managed to cope without their center Whiteside, staying in the middle of the pack. The Spurs, on the other hand, did it at another level, preserving their top-tier team status without arguably the best player in the NBA.
The Spurs usually have the Heat number, winning 9 times in a row. The spreads were high in the past and the total lines were low, but it didn’t stop them from winning in their own way and covering the spread with an under. This team is much different than those editions of the past years, but they play the same way.
This game will surely be on my radar as I hope to cash in as much as I can on the Spurs being continuously underrated by the market. Go with the Spurs but pass on the total.
My Pick: San Antonio Spurs -3.5 (-110)
Total: (pass)
