The Los Angeles Clippers (31-14) head to the Magic City to play the Miami Heat (31-13) at AmericanAirlines Arena Friday at 8 p.m. ET. We analyze Clippers-Heat odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.
Clippers at Heat: Key injuries
Clippers
- PG Patrick Beverley (groin) questionable
- SF Paul George (hamstring) out
Heat
- PG Kendrick Nunn (Achilles) questionable
- SF Jimmy Butler (knee) questionable
- PG Goran Dragic (calf) questionable
- SF Justise Winslow (back) out
Clippers at Heat: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Clippers 107, Heat 102
Moneyline (ML)
Sigh … as confident as I am in the Clippers (-139) winning this game outright, I’m not stoked on laying Clippers the juice on the moneyline. Both the Clippers and the Heat excel against non-conference opponents: Miami is 11-7 outright and 11-6-1 against the spread versus the West, and Los Angeles is 12-4 outright and 10-6 ATS with a plus-10.9 margin of victory against the East.
Since I’m writing this I have to make a ruling on it and that’s for a PASS on the moneyline in favor of a line wager in Clippers-Heat.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
BET CLIPPERS -2.5 (-106) because both teams could be without two starters but Miami’s injury situation is more detrimental than Los Angeles’. The Clippers are accustomed to playing without George, who’s missed 19 games compared to Butler’s six missed games for the Heat. Plus, don’t sleep on Dragic’s possible absence because they’ll need him since reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams, could light up Miami’s second unit. Here are some trendy reasons to back Los Angeles Friday:
- The Clippers are 9-5 ATS with a plus-6.6 margin of victory as an away favorite.
-
Los Angeles is 5-3 ATS in road games against teams above .500 and 3-0 ATS when laying 1-2.5 points.
Also, even if Butler plays, Kawhi Leonard has consistently gotten the better of him throughout their careers:
[protected-iframe id=”3a9b8225e8fa0f37d65973350fb39a32-159279292-75965725″ info=”https://widgets.sports-reference.com/wg.fcgi?css=1&site=bbr&url=%2Fplay-index%2Fh2h_finder.cgi%3Frequest%3D1%26player_id1_select%3DKawhi%2BLeonard%26player_id1%3Dleonaka01%26idx%3Dplayers%26player_id2_select%3DJimmy%2BButler%26player_id2%3Dbutleji01%26idx%3Dplayers&div=div_stats_games” ]
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 219.5 (+105) is the only move if betting the total. The Under is 9-0 in the last nine meetings plus both offenses are a little less efficient on Fridays: The Clippers average seven fewer points and the Heat fall 2.6 points per game below their season average on Fridays. If Dragic, Nunn and Butler all sit out then the Heat will be missing their three top scorers, and the Clippers have a 5-11 Over/Under record against teams above .500.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @Geoffery_Clark and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1368]