The Miami Heat (29-24) travel to Philips Arena to challenge the Atlanta Hawks (31-24) in a meeting of the Southeast Division’s top two teams. Action starts at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 19 and will air on FxS and SUN.
The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out the Bulls 113-90 the last time they played. Jeff Teague had 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds for Atlanta. The Heat, meanwhile, are coming off an ugly 119-101 loss at the hands of the Spurs in their last outing. Dwyane Wade had a good shooting night, leading the team with 20 points.
Second-chance points might be scarce for Atlanta in this matchup. They rank 30th in the NBA in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of 19.8%), while the Heat are fifth-best in the league on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 78.4%).
The Heat have won two out of three against the Hawks this season, including a decisive 105-87 victory in their last matchup. Wade was a top performer in the victory with 17 points, four rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block.
The Hawks come into this game 31-24 Straight Up (SU) and 26-27-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have the same record SU and ATS against division opponents, going 6-4. It’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Hawks. The 98.2 points that Atlanta’s defense allows per home game makes them the fifth-ranked defense at home. Atlanta is the league’s top scoring team off turnovers with an average of 19.3 points per game.
On the other side, the Heat head into the game with records of 26-26-1 ATS and 29-24 SU. Miami has records of 6-5 SU and 4-6-1 ATS against the Southeast. During the last 10 games, they averaged 103.6 PPG, above their 96.0 PPG season average. When it comes to defending the rim, the Heat are one of the best in the league with an average of 6.5 blocks per game.
With the Heat’s last win against Atlanta, Miami is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 3-7 SU. With a 7-3 record, the Hawks also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl
Notes
Atlanta averages 102.4 points per game (ranked 12th). However, Miami has allowed an average of just 96.3 points per game (ranked second).
Atlanta ranks 13th in the league with 103.6 points per home game. Miami gives up just 96.5 points per away game (ranked third).
In its last game, Atlanta won by a 23-point margin. Miami is 6-6 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Atlanta has a 7-5 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Heat are 24-10 on the season. When the Hawks score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 5-20.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Heat are just 5-14 this season. Atlanta is a dazzling 26-4 when registering triple digits.
The Heat have an offensive rating of 102.3 (ranked 23rd), while the Hawks rank fifth for their defensive rating of 100.5.
Atlanta has an average field goal percentage of 46.0% (ranked eighth). Miami is a losing 7-12 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Atlanta Hawks attempt 26.0 three point field goals per game and the Miami Heat attempt 18.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Atlanta is 15-19, while Miami has a losing record of 1-3.
Atlanta has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.73 this season (ranked eighth), while Miami ranks lower at 19th with an A/TO of 1.50.
Atlanta ranks 28th in rebounds per game with 41.2, while Miami ranks 16th with 43.1 per game.
Atlanta is ranked 20th in defensive rebounds, while Miami ranks 27th in offensive rebounds.
Atlanta is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.2% (ranked second). Miami has an underachieving record of 4-12 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 16.2% or greater.
