It’s still early in the NBA season, but Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat have hardly skipped a beat despite losing the best player on the planet in the summer. Even so, the Heat will have a tough assignment upcoming as they visit the home of the high-flying Atlanta Hawks, who have won three games in a row.
Also on Friday night, the team that beat the Heat in last year’s Finals, the San Antonio Spurs, will look to extend their own winning streak when they take on the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Check out that preview here and get ready for a Friday night full of hoops action below.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks Betting Preview
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta
When: Friday, November 14, 2014, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Miami Heat +2.5 at Atlanta Hawks -2.5; total 194.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Miami Heat
It’s been so far, so good for the post-LeBron James era in South Beach. The Heat have gone 5-3 in their first eight games and haven’t noticeably missed King James’ talents much, especially on offense.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Even counting a season-low 75-points in their loss on Wednesday to the Indiana Pacers’ very good defense, the Heat are still a very respectable seventh in Offensive Rating. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has his team playing very crisp, unselfish basketball which has them assisting on 64 percent of their made field goals, the second-best mark in the league.
The ball is moving and it’s finding two of the remaining Big Three – Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade – who have been playing lights out. Until his nine-point showing against the Pacers, Bosh (23 PPG, 10 RPG) had scored over 20 points in each of his first seven games, while Wade (20 PPG, seven APG) has topped 19 or more points in seven of his eight games.
The production from those two was expected. Shawne Williams (10 PPG, two threes made per game) on the other hand, has been a very pleasant surprise as the Rashard Lewis-type stretch forward, and has been a pivotal part of Miami’s early-season success.
The Heat employ the same floor-spacing principles the Hawks do, only with superior stars in Bosh and Wade executing them. Atlanta isn’t nearly the same defensive team as Indiana, so expect the Heat offense to bounce back strong.
And on defense, Miami’s small-ball configuration that features Williams at power forward should be able to match up well with Atlanta’s own mobile four with Paul Millsap on the perimeter.
The total has gone under in the Heat’s last five games.
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Betting on the Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have finally risen above .500 for the first time this season thanks to their current three-game winning streak. The Hawks took care of the Knicks in a home-and-home, and most recently edged past a dangerous Jazz team, 100-97, on Wednesday.
Former Jazz player Paul Millsap (14 PPG, seven RPG) broke out of a slow start with a season-high 30 points and 17 rebounds against his old team. Meanwhile, point guard Jeff Teague (16 PPG, eight APG) bounced back from a poor showing in New York with 20 points and eight assists. Teague has yet to find his consistency this season, with a five- and three-point outings sprinkled in between 20-point games.
Speaking of consistency, Al Horford (14 PPG, eight RPG) is still trying to find his game as he works his way back from last year’s season-ending pectoral injury, but Atlanta’s offense has been playing just fine with his reintroduction to the lineup.
The Hawks are currently the best in the league in a) assist percentage, or the percentage of their field goals that were assisted, at 65 percent and b) three-point percentage (41 percent).
The Hawks have also been hot at home, hitting the 100-point barrier in all three games at Philips Arena, all of which have resulted in wins. With all their weapons on offense, including the red hot Kyle Korver (20 PPG, 17 threes in his last four games), scoring shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Stopping the Heat will be Atlanta’s main priority, and they’ve promisingly started the season in the top-10 in Defensive Rating. Wing stopper Thabo Sefolosha has been a big part of that improvement, and will be tasked with keeping an eye on Dwyane Wade all night long.
Writer’s Prediction
The Hawks roll to their fourth-straight home win against the Heat.
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