There’s just no stopping the Golden State Warriors. The defending champions stretched their unbeaten run to six games with a straightforward victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The Warriors will look to keep the momentum going and preserve their unbeaten home record later tonight when they host the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena.
[sc:NBA250 ]Who will emerge victorious in this NBA clash? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our complete NFL Divisional round predictions.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Miami Heat vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland
When: Monday, January 11, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: SUN/CSNB
Betting on the Miami Heat (22-15)
The Miami Heat were sent crashing back to earth on Saturday with a humiliating 98-83 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Heat just put on one of their worst defensive performances this season, allowing the Jazz to shoot 54.9 percent from the field. That’s quite a surprise considering the Heat are among the league leaders in scoring defense, allowing just 94.8 points per game this campaign.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Things are bound to get tougher for the road-weary Heat as standing in their way tonight are the red-hot Golden State Warriors. The defending champions are 17-0 at Oracle Arena this season and have not lost a home game since January 27, 2015. To make matters worse for the Heat, the Warriors are the league’s best offensive team, averaging a whopping 114.5 points per game this season.
Stopping the Warriors will be doubly harder for the Heat with injuries ravaging their squad as we speak. Dwyane Wade (shoulder), Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and Hassan Whiteside (knee) all played through some discomfort or missed the game entirely against the Jazz. With this trio’s participation in question for tonight’s ballgame, the onus is on Chris Bosh to lead the charge for Miami. He’s having a renaissance of a season thus far, averaging a team-best 19.2 points and 7.9 boards per game this campaign.
For Miami to pull off the victory, though, it needs to find a way to stop the sizzling Stephen Curry. He averaged 36 points in a pair of wins over the Heat last season. He has been on fire for Golden State this campaign, averaging a league-best 29.5 points per game this season.
The Heat are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (35-2)
The defending champions extended their winning streak to six games with an impressive 128-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. It was a fantastic victory by the Warriors, who extended their lead atop the Western Conference standings to 3.5 games.
To no one’s surprise, it was Stephen Curry who stole the show for the Warriors on Saturday night. The reigning MVP led all scorers with 38 points, including going 8-of-14 from the three-point line. The Warriors were actually red-hot as a team from beyond the arc, nailing 19 of their 37 three-pointers. The Warriors lead the league in three-point shooting this season with an exceptional 42.9 percent clip.
The Warriors now set their sights on a 36-2 start when they face the Miami Heat tonight. One player who’s expected to step up big time this evening is Draymond Green. He was superb in the game against Sacramento, scoring 25 points and grabbing nine boards. He has been tremendous for the Warriors this campaign, averaging 15.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game this season.
The Warriors are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against the Heat.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State wins, 115-97.
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