Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers 3/11/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Miami Heat play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the FTX Arena on Friday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have cooled off with six losses in their last nine games overall, but they will be aiming for a third straight win after outlasting the Pacers in a 127-124 road win on Tuesday. Darius Garland led the team with 41 points and 13 assists, Evan Mobley added 22 points with 12 rebounds and five steals, while Lauri Markkanen chipped in with 21 points. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 49 percent from the field and nine of 32 from the 3-point line as they struggled for most of the game and trailed by as many as 10 points late in the third quarter, before going on a 30-13 run in the fourth quarter to escape with the narrow victory thanks to some clutch free throw shooting.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have been in fine form as they’ve won 12 of their last 15 games overall, but they will be eager to bounce back after snapping a three-game skid with a 111-90 loss to the Suns on Wednesday. Duncan Robinson led the team with 22 points, while Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each scored 17 points, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Heat shot just 39 percent from the field and 10 of 33 from the 3-point line as they got off to a solid start and kept pace with the Suns in the first half, before going ice-cold in the second half where they managed just 35 points to suffer one of their worst losses of the season. Kyle Lowry scored just five points on one of three shooting while Gabe Vincent shot just two of 10 for his five points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Cavaliers are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games playing on two days’ rest, 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games against a team above .600 and 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games against a team with a winning record. The Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a loss of more than 10 points and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall.

Head to head, the over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings overall, the Cavaliers are 2-12 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Miami and the Cavaliers are 4-11 ATS in the last 15 meetings overall.

The Cavaliers are still without Caris LeVert, Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen, while the Heat are still missing Markieff Morris while Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler are both listed as questionable for this one. The Cavaliers are coming into this one fresh off a win over the Pacers thanks to 41 points from Garland, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that effort against the Heat who will be fired up after getting blown out on Wednesday. The Cavaliers would be tempting if they weren’t so banged up, but with the short line, I’m sticking with the Heat to get the win and cover at home.