Miami Heat vs. Utah Jazz Odds, Preview, and Prediction
Heat vs. Jazz Odds
| Heat Odds | +7.5 |
| Jazz Odds | -7.5 |
| Over/Under | 213 |
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 13 |
| Time | 5:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBATV |
On Saturday evening, the Miami Heat and the Utah Jazz will battle at the Vivint Arena. Following a white-hot start to the new campaign, the Heat have cooled off considerably on the current West Coast road trip—having lost each of their last three contests. The Jazz started the season 7-1, but have similarly struggled over the last week of action, having dropped three of their last four games. Oddsmakers anticipate Utah being the team to get back on track in this matchup, pricing the Jazz as 7.5-point home favorites on the spread.
Let’s take a closer look at Heat vs. Jazz odds along with some NBA betting tips for tonight’s matchup on NBA TV.
Miami Heat (+7.5)
On this morning’s injury report, Markieff Morris is officially listed as out, due to a neck injury. Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain, but could find himself back in the lineup tonight after having Thursday and Friday to recover since his last action on the court.
When the Heat have been at full strength this season, they have been arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference. Miami opened the year with a 42 point victory against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat also have double-digit wins against the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and a three-point win against the Jazz on November 6th.
Even with Butler only playing 12 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami led by nine points with 4:37 left in regulation before losing in overtime. The Heat were once again competitive against the Los Angeles Clippers, playing on a back-to-back at the Staples Center on Thursday, losing by only three points. In Butler’s absence, Miami still has legitimate scoring options with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry. Duncan Robinson is capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter, and P.J. Tucker can still be expected to wreak havoc on the defensive end of the floor against opposing perimeter players.
It would be a mistake to dismiss Miami as an easy win simply because they are missing one or two key players. This is a deep roster that is built to withstand the bumps and bruises of a long NBA season.
Utah Jazz (-7.5)
Utah has eight wins this season—seven of which have come by nine points or more. When the Jazz win, they usually win by a comfortable margin. However, this group has scuffled over the last week, which included a loss to the Heat last Saturday. In Utah’s last four games, they have allowed an abysmal 114.5 points per 100 possessions, which would be the worst defensive efficiency in the NBA for the season to this point.
Last week’s loss to Miami was forgivable—experiencing defeat to a superb team on the road. However, losing to the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers forces bettors to confront questions concerning this team’s focus and their depth. Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and Jordan Clarkson are each averaging 14.3 points or more per game through 12 contests. Yet, nobody else on this roster is contributing better than 7.8 points per night. Hassan Whiteside has the fourth-best Net Rating of any player in the league, but Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, and Eric Paschall have been underwhelming for the second unit thus far.
The Jazz are 35-6 when playing at home since the beginning of last season, making it hard to justify picking against them—especially with the uncertainty surrounding the status of Butler. Still, Utah could be a risky play for bettors this evening.
Heat vs. Jazz Pick: Over or Under 213?
Though it is always appealing to bet on sides for marquee matchups, bettors may instead want to turn their attention to the total in this affair, at least until they receive confirmation on whether or not Butler will suit up for Miami.
When these two teams met last week, the pace of the game was painstakingly-slow at a pace of only 91.50 possessions. The game total still managed to hit 233 as a consequence of both teams shooting better than 51 percent from the floor and Miami shooting 52.4 percent from beyond the arc. Utah is a much better defensive team than they showed in their initial meeting against Miami, but it is doubtful that they are good enough to cut this total by 20 points this evening. Missing Butler will hurt Miami’s defense more than it will hurt their offense.
There is inherent risk playing a matchup in which a star of Butler’s magnitude is listed as questionable, but bettors should consider a small play on the over on this contest, regardless of his status.
PICK: Over 213 (-110)
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