The Brooklyn Nets (7-17) square off against the visiting Miami Heat (14-9) at the Barclays Center. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and will air on YES and SUN.
The Nets got blown out by the Magic 105-82 on Monday. Jarrett Jack finished with 15 points to lead the team. The Heat, meanwhile, are coming off a 100-88 win over the Hawks on Monday. Chris Bosh had a good game and claimed his ninth double-double of the season, posting 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The inefficient Nets offense (29th in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 97.4) will square off against the top-notch Heat defense (second in the league with a defensive efficiency of 97.2). The Heat figure to have the advantage on that end of the court.
The Nets are a five-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 191 points. The Nets enter the game with records of 7-17 Straight Up (SU) and 14-10 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS.
Across the court, the Heat head into the game with records of 10-12-1 ATS and 14-9 SU. Miami has records of 7-8 SU and 6-9 ATS against the East. Miami is one of the top shooting teams in the league, hitting .458 of its shots from the floor. The Heat are one of the top defensive teams in the league, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 93.6 points allowed per game. Miami’s three-point defense is one of the top in the league, with opponents making only 7.0 shots from the three-point line per game. They average 7.2 blocks per game, good for first in the league.
The conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Heat were winners, moving their SU record against the Nets to 8-2 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, with a 7-3 record, the Heat have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia, ATS Winner – Mia, O/U – Under
Notes
Brooklyn is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Brooklyn’s last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Brooklyn’s last 7 games at home.
Brooklyn is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Brooklyn is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami.
Brooklyn is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Miami.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Brooklyn’s last 10 games when playing at home against Miami.
Brooklyn is 4-16 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Miami.
While Brooklyn scores an average of just 96.0 points per game (ranked 27th), Miami ranks second in points allowed, giving up 93.6 points per game.
While Brooklyn puts up an average of just 97.2 points per game at home (ranked 26th), Miami ranks second in points allowed on the road, giving up 92.6 points per game.
In its last game, Brooklyn lost by a 23-point margin. Miami is 3-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Brooklyn has a 0-3 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Heat are 13-4 on the season. When the Nets score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 3-13.
When Miami gives up at least 100 points, the team has an underachieving 1-5 record this season. Brooklyn is even at 4-4 when it hits triple digits.
The Nets have a defensive rating of 104.1 (ranked 19th), while the Heat rank 17th for their offensive rating of 101.8.
The Miami Heat have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking fourth in the league with a FG% of 45.8%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Brooklyn Nets have an abysmal 1-10 record.
The Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Brooklyn is 24th and 14th in the league for EFF% and FG% respectively, while Miami ranks 14th and fourth in these categories.
Brooklyn has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.35 this season (ranked 22nd). Miami ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.44 (ranked 18th).
The Brooklyn Nets rebound 44.7 times per game and are ranked ninth. Ranked 18th, the Miami Heat rebound 43.6 times per game.
The Miami Heat rank 25th in offensive rebounding, while the Brooklyn Nets rank 13th in defensive rebounding.
Miami has forced an average turnover percentage of 13.6% this season. Brooklyn has a losing 5-11 record when its TOV% is 13.6% or higher.
