NBA Picks: Miami at Indiana
Written by Greg Waters
Tue, 15 Feb 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
The Miami Heat have an 8-1 straight-up record in their past nine games including a recent road win at Detroit. One of the games during this run was a 117-112 victory over these Indiana Pacers (Feb. 8), and Miami is 5-1 SU against the Pacers since the start of the 2009 season.
Sportsbooks have set the line for this game at Heat (-6) and while that pointspread pales in comparison to the first two meetings this season (-9, -10.5), Indiana has looked like a new team the past two weeks.
Interim head coach Frank Vogel deserves a lot of credit for the change, modifying the team's style and getting his men to play up to their potential, but wins against the Nets, Raptors and Cavs need to be graded for what they are worth. The only team with a winning record Indiana was successful against during Vogel's tenure is Portland (31-24).
That Trailblazers team has a miserable 13-17 SU road record, too, while the Heat (19-10) is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for second-best road record in the NBA.
Miami is 4-1 ATS in its past five road games and 7-2-1 ATS following an ATS loss. The loss was on Sunday against Boston where oddsmakers had installed the Heat as a -2.5 favorite and the Celtics won 85-82 SU.
Laying between -4 and -10, the Heat has won four-straight and all four games finished over the total. Sportsbooks set the Over/Under for this game at 206.5 and even though seven of the past nine games between these teams finished under, current form for each of these squads now is much different than it was in years past.
Dwayne Wade suffered an ankle injury during the loss to Boston but is expected to play against Indiana. Miami has a game at Toronto on-deck but that is not going to draw much of their attention. Indiana has scored more than 100 points eight consecutive times and that fact that Miami has been traveling helps the Pacers cause.
Pick: Take the Over
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