Miami Heat vs. Sacramento Kings Betting Preview
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: Wednesday, January 4, 2017, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Miami Heat (+7.5) at Sacramento Kings (-7.5); total: 201.5 – view all NBA lines
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Betting on the Miami Heat (+7.5)
Plummeting further down the rabbit hole are the Miami Heat, who lost their sixth-straight contest on Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns, 99-90.
That’s now nine defeats in their last ten (albeit with a more respectable 4-6 ATS record) for the Heat, whose only win during that stretch was against a Lakers team that lost all but two of their 16 games in December.
Not just for lack of trying, but Miami’s free fall can be attributed to the slew of injuries that they’ve suffered of late. Only eight players were active versus the Suns, as starters Hasaan Whiteside (right eye), Justise Winslow (shoulder) and Dion Waiters (a peculiar healthy scratch) each sat out the contest.
Having Whiteside alone to patrol the paint with less-than 100-percent vision would do wonders for the Heat, as it’s clear that Goran Dragic (24 points, nine assists on Tuesday) cannot carry the scoring load on his own. Heck, when the next best player on your roster is all of a sudden perennial benchwarmer Willie Reed, who notched career-highs of 22 points and 18 rebounds against lowly Phoenix, you know you’re in dire straits indeed.
With battered bodies aplenty, the infamous distinction of becoming the first NBA team this season to reach 26 losses, and Wednesday’s contest against the Kings being just the second stop of a six-game road trip – five-straight against the entire Pacific Division – don’t count on Miami to rise from their self-immolated ashes just yet.
Betting on the Sacramento Kings (-7.5)
A 120-113 win in Mile High over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday has seemingly put the Sacramento Kings right back on track. They snapped their brief two-game slide and have now won five of their last seven to retain sole possession of the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings.
DeMarcus Cousins had another typical dominant outing, as he finished with 31 points, six boards and six assists against the Nuggets. He was duly aided in the scoring department by Darren Collison as well, who tallied a season-high 22 points as Sacramento shot a superb 52.3 percent from the field as a team on Tuesday.
Simply put, the Kings need their offense to get going in order to sustain their momentum and not get stunted by Miami. Hard to believe, but the Heat have actually held three opponents to less than 100 points during their six-game losing streak and are a decent seventh in the league at 101.9 points allowed per contest. In retrospect: the Kings are putting up a similar average of 101.8 points per game themselves (22nd overall), and are a dismal 3-14 this season when they score less than 100 points a night.
Nevertheless, and in spite of just five wins in their last eight home games (4-4 ATS), the Kings should still be able to handle the struggling Heat given how the two teams have polarizing schedules ahead. Sacramento will host the first bout of a seven-game homestand this Wednesday with Miami as their weakest opponent on tap hands down, which means that coach Mike Malone and his boys would do anything to prevent another embarrassing defeat from happening all the more.
Writer’s Prediction
The Kings (-7.5) edge past the Heat, 106-98.
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