Miami Heat vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 10/04/2024, 05:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 10/04/2024 at 06:02 in NBA Predictions

The Dallas Mavericks will head to the Kaseya Center to face the Miami Heat in the NBA on Wednesday night. The hosts are 44-35 and eighth in the Eastern Conference while the visitors are 49-30 and fifth in the Western Conference. 

The Mavericks have been solid this season and have clinched a spot in the playoffs, currently two wins ahead of the sixth-placed Pelicans and two behind the Clippers. They racked up their fourth win in a row last night, beating the Hornets comfortably 130-104, with Luka Doncic putting on another clinic, scoring 39 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists, while Daniel Gafford contributed 26 points and seven rebounds. The Mavericks are the league’s fifth-ranked scoring team and the 118.7 points per game they score are 10.2 more points than the Heat allow (108.5). Defensively, Dallas has some room for improvement, though, currently ranked 20th in the league, allowing 115.8 points per game. Josh Green, Dereck Lively and Greg Brown are ruled out for this one due to injury. 

Meanwhile, with just three games left to play, Miami will have to settle for a spot in the play-in round, as they are two games behind the three sides tied on 46 wins this season and one behind the seventh-placed 76ers. The Heat come into this match off the back of a hard-fought 117-111 overtime victory against the Hawks last night, with Tyler Hero leading the team with 33 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Jimmy Butler chipped in with 25 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Offensively, Miami are ranked down in 27th place in the league, with an average of 110.1 points per game. However, what they lack on offense, they more than make up for defensively, where they are ranked fourth in the league, allowing just 108.5 PPG. This is Miami’s toughest game left in the regular season with their remaining two being against Toronto, who are already eliminated from playoff qualification.