Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors 12/18/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-12-18 19:00:00 EDT
The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors meet Friday in NBA preseason action at the Amalie Arena.
The Miami Heat look for a preseason win after losing to the Pelicans on Monday. The Miami Heat are averaging 92 points on 42.7 percent shooting and allowing 114 points on 44.7 percent shooting. Tyler Herro is averaging 17 points and six assists while Duncan Robinson is averaging 14 points and two rebounds. Kendrick Nunn is the third double-digit scorer and Max Strus is grabbing eight rebounds. The Miami Heat are shooting 28.3 percent from beyond the arc and 81.8 percent from the free thitem line. The Miami Heat are allowing 31.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35 rebounds per game.
The Toronto Raptors look for a 3-0 preseason record after beating the Hornets twice. The Toronto Raptors are averaging 111.5 points on 44.3 percent shooting and allowing 104.5 points on 42.6 percent shooting. Fed VanVleet is averaging 16 points and 0.5 rebounds while Terence Davis is averaging 13.5 points and two rebounds. Malachi Flynn is the third double-digit scorer and Pascal Siakam is grabbing four rebounds. The Toronto Raptors are shooting 35.4 percent from beyond the arc and 68.6 percent from the free thitem line. The Toronto Raptors are allowing 33.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41.5 rebounds per game.
The Heat are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games and 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The Raptors are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Heat are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Toronto and 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings. The over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Toronto.
The Miami Heat have the depth to win this game, but I expect them to continue taking it easy with their vets after a deep finals run. The Toronto Raptors looked good against a younger and hungry Hornets team, and they’re a deep, feisty defensive club that plays hard regardless if the games count or not. Should be a fun game, but I’ll lay the bucket with the Raptors.
