The Phoenix Suns (52-13) travel to South Beach Wednesday to play the Miami Heat (44-22) for a 7:30 p.m. ET game at FTX Arena. Below, we look at the Suns vs. Heat odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Phoenix has won three of its last four games but is just 4-3 straight up (SU) and 2-5 against the spread (ATS) since the All-Star break. The Suns eked past the Orlando Magic 102-99 Tuesday and failed to cover as 6-point road favorites.
Miami has won six of its last seven games following the All-Star game (6-1 ATS), which includes recent victories over current Eastern Conference top seeds in the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat roasted the Suns 123-100 in Phoenix Jan. 8 as 9.5-point road underdogs. Miami was missing F Jimmy Butler and big Bam Adebayo and attempted 14 fewer free throws while the Suns were at full health.
Suns at Heat odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Suns +175 (bet $100 to win $175) | Heat -220 (bet $220 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Suns +5.5 (-120) | Heat -5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 218.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Suns at Heat key injuries
Suns (not officially submitted)
- PF Cameron Johnson (quadriceps) questionable
- PG Chris Paul (hand) out
Heat
- SF Jimmy Butler (illness) questionable
[tipico]
Suns at Heat odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Heat 115, Suns 105
Money line
PASS because Miami is the right side here but the Heat (-220) are far too expensive. The Suns also underperform on the second of back-to-backs and this is the healthiest the Heat have been all year.
Miami SG Victor Oladipo made his season debut in the Heat’s previous game against the Houston Rockets. Oladipo is on a minutes restriction but scored 11 points on 57.1% shooting in 14:38 minutes of action Monday.
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Against the spread
BET the HEAT -5.5 (-105) for 1 unit because a majority of the action is on the Suns and there’s typically value in fading public underdogs.
Miami is very profitable when playing with a rest advantage and Phoenix is a bad bet when playing the second of a back-to-back. The Heat are an NBA-best 12-4 ATS with an edge in rest (plus-7.0 ATS margin) and the Suns are 4-6 ATS when playing on zero rest days (minus-5.2 ATS margin).
Miami is also 10-5 ATS when laying 5-7 points and 20-11 ATS when playing teams with a winning record. While Phoenix is 0-4 ATS as underdogs of 3 or greater and 11-13 ATS when playing teams with a winning record.
The HEAT LAYING 5.5 POINTS (-105) is my favorite wager in this game. However, I’d wait until closer to tip-off before betting Miami since money will come in on Phoenix after it announced All-Star G Devin Booker will return to action Wednesday.
Over/Under
PASS because both teams’ leading scorers are listed as “questionable” on the injury report.
If anything, I “lean” to the Over 218.5 (-108) because these teams have a combined 30-25 O/U record versus teams with a winning record and all three of the referees assigned to this game have officiated more Overs.
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