The Miami Heat (43-37) face the Washington Wizards (34-46) on Friday at Capital One Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Heat vs. Wizards odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
The Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 129-101 on Thursday to cover as 2.5-point road underdogs. Miami has won 3 straight games and is 1 game behind the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with 2 games remaining.
The Wizards failed to cover as 12.5-point road underdogs in their 134-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday. Washington has lost 4 consecutive games and 8 of its last 10 outings.
This will be the fourth season meeting between Miami and Washington. The Heat are 2-1 straight up and 2-0-1 against the spread in the first 3 meetings as the Over has cashed twice. All 3 meetings occurred in November.
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Heat at Wizards odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:03 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Heat -225 (bet $225 to win $100) | Wizards +190 (bet $100 to win $190)
- Against the spread (ATS): Heat -5.5 (-115) | Wizards +5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 217.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Heat at Wizards key injuries
Heat
- Not Yet Submitted
Wizards
- F Deni Avdija (elbow) out
- G Bradley Beal (knee) out
- F Kyle Kuzma (ankle) out
- G Monte Morris (ankle) out
- F Kristaps Porzingis (illness) out
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Heat at Wizards picks and predictions
Prediction
Heat 110, Wizards 102
Moneyline
PASS.
It remains to be seen if the Heat (-225) play their usual starters on a back-to-back despite their outside chance of getting the No. 6 seed. So with both teams potentially having multiple starters out, I’ll pass on the money line in this game.
Against the spread
HEAT -5.5 (-115) is the lean in this game, though, I wouldn’t be confident in siding with either team in this contest. However, the Wizards have 4 of their 5 starters sidelined and they’ve struggled to keep games close recently.
The Heat are 28-11-2 ATS in the last 41 road meetings against the Wizards and 3-0-1 ATS in the last 4 meetings overall.
Over/Under
With the uncertainty of who is going to suit up for the Heat, I’ll lean toward taking UNDER 217.5 (-105). Both of these teams are bottom 11 in pace and Miami is 9th in defensive rating.
The Heat are 5-1 to the Under in their last 6 games playing on 0 days of rest.
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