With seven wins in their last eight games, the Heat have clearly flipped a switch and will be in playoff mode for the remainder of the season. Jimmy Butler and his friends. Perversely, they have covered seven straight games on the road, and in six games against Western Conference opponents, SU is 5-1. In head-to-head competition, they have defeated the Mavs 14 of 20 games and are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games. With Kevin Love and Tyler Herro sidelined, injuries are the only potential issue that could stall the Heat's momentum here.
The past few weeks have been tough for the Mavericks. They have disappeared defensively, allowing over 120 points in five straight games, so it's no wonder SU is just 1-5 in their last six games. Until they turn things around and get back to being the team that had won seven straight games before the All-Star break, I don't have faith in them. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are both putting up big numbers, but if they're not leading to wins, they're pretty much empty calories at this point.
Teams in the Eastern Conference have also defeated the Mavs in four of their past five games, and the Warriors and Lakers are gradually closing in behind them in the West standings. Miami has a good chance of winning this game, as the two teams have split the previous two meetings at American Airlines Center. A slightly safer option is to cover the Heat as road underdogs.
Heat +4.5 is available at the time of publication. You can play with that number.
