The Miami Heat have been in a bit of a slump lately. On Monday, they will face the Charlotte Hornets in an evening game, one that promises to be close (7:10 PM ET). The Hornets, who have struggled at home and overall this season, are underdogs at +3.0 (bet365). My Heat vs Hornets prediction is that this will be a very close game with a small spread for the winner. I look at a betting prop bet that accounts for a small margin of victory for either team.
NBA Matchup: Heat vs Hornets
Away: Miami Heat
Home: Charlotte Hornets
Game time: Monday, December 11th, 2023 @ 7:10 PM ET
Miami vs Charlotte Prediction: Latest NBA News
The Heat have taken a fair share of their losses lately. If you isolate their most recent seven games this season, they are just 2-5 over that stretch.
The team has had some injury problems. In their most recent game, they were without Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo. That turned into a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers by a 12-point spread. In their previous home game, Miami lost by 15 to the Indiana Pacers.
Bettors who are considering backing the Heat to cover -3.0 will have to have a look at the team’s depth chart on Monday. Tyler Herro, Highsmith, and Adebayo are the players who missed Friday’s action. I wouldn’t feel great about backing the Heat without two of these players active or at least probable.
Miami Heat: Recent Form Alert
Formerly: 10 – 5 heading into Nov 24th, 2023
Currently: 12 – 10 (overall)
Recent form: 2 – 5 since Nov 24th, 2023
Recent winning rate: .286
Double-check for playing status updates with Miami (22:39 ET time of writing):: Team’s Depth Chart
The Hornets are at a shaky part of their season. Their active roster looks good heading into Sunday and will presumingly stay that way for Monday’s game. But the team is without top scorer LaMelo Ball. The 6’7″ point guard is not due for a re-evaluation of his ankle until about December 15th, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
Ball last appeared in a game on November 26th. The team is 2-3 without him, which is not a bad record for Charlotte.
At about the time of Ball’s injury, Terry Rozier returned to action for the Hornets. Not long before that, the team saw the return of Miles Bridges. Bridges has played well for the Hornets and so has Rozier. Also, Charlotte has two effective centers, Mark Williams and Nick Richards. They are a tricky team right now with perhaps the loss of Ball something that could be overstated.
Double-check for playing status updates with Charlotte (22:39 ET time of writing):: Team’s Depth Chart
Heat vs Hornets Prediction: Betting Tips
Bettors should be expecting a tight game. Even if Miami’s big men play, they will be in tough against Charlotte’s post players.
Furthermore, even with the loss of LaMelo Ball, Charlotte has seen worse times in their season when it comes to attrition. In the early days, Ball was active while Rozier and Bridges were both out. I think the current active roster for Charlotte is a little better than what we’ve seen at other points in the season.
The Hornets could threaten to be mediocre this season if Ball returns to the lineup and the team does well for injury luck for the balance of the campaign. At 18 to 1 with bet365, I think the Hornets are a good value bet to make the play-in tournament.
For the game at hand, bettors should take a margin of 1-2 points either way. You can do that with the “Winning Margin” market. The Heat at +1000 to win by one or two points is available. Charlotte for the same bet is at +1100. You are betting on a very close game, which is what could transpire here. If one bet wins, the other loses but pays for the losing bet and then a lot more.
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