Miami Heat (20-19) vs. Phoenix Suns (20-19)
January 6, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Phoenix Suns +1.5; Over/Under: +215.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Miami Heat travel to the Footprint Center to take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
The Miami Heat have been in great shape as they’ve won eight of their last 12 games overall, but they will be looking to bounce back here after falling just short to the Lakers in a 112-109 road loss on Wednesday. Bam Adebayo led the team with 30 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, Jimmy Butler added 27 points on 11 of 22 shooting while Victor Oladipo chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Heat shot 45 percent from the field and eight of 29 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from a 13-point deficit to lead by six points in the fourth quarter, only to allow the Lakers to go on a 19-7 run to snatch the game from them in a tight finish.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns have been in a real slump as they’ve lost seven of their past eight games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a four-game slide after getting stopped by the Cavaliers in a 90-88 road loss on Wednesday. Chris Paul led the way with 25 points and eight assists, DeAndre Ayton added 15 points with 18 rebounds while Landry Shamet chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Suns shot just 39 percent from the field and 10 of 28 from the 3-point line as they held the Cavaliers to just 33 points in the first half to open up an 11-point lead, but they never put the Cavaliers away and got burned in the second half where they got outscored by 57-45 to finish on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games following an ATS loss. The Suns are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 7-19 ATS in their last 26 home games following a road trip of seven or more days.
Head to head, the over is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings overall, the Heat are 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings overall and the Heat are 12-2 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Phoenix.
The Heat are still a little banged up as Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson and Nikola Jovic are all out, while the Suns are still missing Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and Devin Booker. You really couldn’t back either team with too much confidence these days, but the Heat have been the more consistent team this season and they will be kicking themselves after dropping such a winnable game against the Lakers in their last outing, so I’ll back the Heat to make the adjustments and get over the line in this spot.
