The Washington Wizards (8-10) travel to AmericanAirlines Arena to play the Miami Heat (12-6), the best team in the Eastern Conference. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 7 and will air on SUN and WA2.
The Heat were victorious over the Cavaliers 99-84 on Saturday. Tyler Johnson had a good game, finishing with 19 points, five rebounds, and two assists for the Heat. The Wizards, meanwhile, are coming off a 116-104 loss at the hands of the Mavericks on Sunday. John Wall had a solid game, accumulating his seventh double-double of the season with 28 points and 10 assists.
Over the last five games, Wall has been on a tear for the Wizards. During that stretch, he has averaged 26.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers.
The Heat are a seven-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 197 points. The Heat look to build on their records of 12-6 Straight Up (SU) and 9-9 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 6-5 SU and 5-6 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Miami has consistently been near the top of the league in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking fifth in the league with a FG% of .456. As for the Miami defense, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Heat, who allow only 92.2 points per game. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Heat, who have the best opponent field-goal percentage in the league at .407.
On the other side, the Wizards head into the game with records of 8-10 both ATS and SU. Washington has records of 6-7 SU and ATS against the East.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time the division rivals played, Washington won, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. The Heat hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia, ATS Winner – Mia, O/U – Under
Notes
Miami is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Miami’s last 17 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Miami’s last 12 games at home.
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Miami is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami’s last 5 games when playing Washington.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami’s last 7 games when playing at home against Washington.
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington’s last 7 games when playing on the road against Miami.
Miami puts up an average of 96.4 points per game (ranked 26th), while Washington gives up 104.8 points per game (ranked 25th).
Miami ranks 22nd in points per home game with 98.7 points, while Washington ranks 19th in points allowed on the road with 103.0.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Miami Heat are a superb 11-2. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Washington Wizards have a losing record of 3-5.
When Miami allows at least 100 points, the team has a losing 1-4 record this season. The Wizards are at 0.500 when they hit the century mark (5-5).
The Wizards have a defensive rating of 103.5 (ranked 21st). The Heat rank 12th for their offensive rating of 102.5.
The Washington Wizards average 100.8 possessions per game and .994 points per possession. The Miami Heat earn fewer possessions with 94.1, but they score more points with 1.025.
Washington has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.0%. Miami is an even 2-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Miami attempts 19.0 three pointers and Washington attempts 24.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Heat are winless at 0-1 while the Wizards are even at 4-4.
Miami has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.48 this season (ranked 16th), while Washington ranks lower at 22nd with an A/TO of 1.37.
Washington ranks 28th in rebounds per game with 41.3, while Miami ranks 17th with 44.0.
The Washington Wizards rank 26th in offensive rebounding, while the Miami Heat rank ninth in defensive rebounding.
Washington is among the best in forcing turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.6% (ranked fourth). Miami has a 2-3 record SU when its TOV% reaches 16.6% or greater.
