Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers Preview & Picks
Miami are tipped to cover as an underdog in the opening game of this series.
The Heat have been a reliable spread bet over the past several weeks and the Cavaliers could have some rustiness having not played a game that matters for a while.
- Miami Heat are 13-3-0 ATS in their previous 16 games
- Miami Heat are 10-3-0 ATS in their last 13 games as a betting underdog
- Cleveland Cavaliers are 6-10-0 ATS in their last 16 games
- The Over has cashed in 6 of the last 8 meetings
Head To Head
- Miami Heat lead the all-time series 80-53
- Cleveland Cavaliers won 112-107 when the two teams last met on March 5
Miami Heat Form
Miami went 37-45 in the regular season and successfully navigated the Play-In Tournament to make it to the playoffs.
The Heat cost themselves home court advantage in the first round of the Play-In as they lost four times in their final six regular season games.
That rough run began with a 110-108 defeat at home to Memphis, and they then sandwiched a 117-105 win over Philadelphia with a 121-115 overtime loss to Milwaukee and a 119-111 defeat in Chicago.
Miami rebounded from the loss to the Bulls with a 153-104 blowout of New Orleans, only to close out the regular season with a 119-118 loss to Washington.
The Heat bounced back in the Play-In though, heading out on the road to beat Chicago 109-90 and Atlanta 123-114 in overtime to set up this meeting with the Cavaliers.
Cleveland Cavaliers Form
Cleveland booked their trip to the postseason by putting together a 64-18 regular-season record to finish atop the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers come into this series on a mixed run of form, having won eight of their final 12 games but just two of the last five.
They put together a couple of three-game win streaks to start this sequence, before cooling off following a 120-113 defeat to Sacramento.
Cleveland rebounded with a 135-113 victory over Chicago, only to then suffer a 114-112 defeat when the visited Indiana.
The Cavaliers responded with a 108-102 win in New York, but closed out the regular season with a 126-118 double overtime defeat to Indiana.