Free NBA Pick: Heat vs. Hornets NBA Odds
Looking for Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Heat taking on the Hornets on Thursday, February 17th, 2022 at Spectrum Center. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Heat-Hornets matchup.
2022 NBA Handicapping
(37-21) Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets (29-30)
Date: Thursday, February 17th
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Venue: Spectrum Center
NBA Moneyline Odds: Heat -167 | Hornets +155 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Heat -4.5
NBA Betting Total: 227
Thursday, February 17th the Miami Heat play the Charlotte Hornets for the third of four matches this season. Miami won both prior contests on October 29th (114-99) and February 5th (104-86). Charlotte will host the final meeting on April 5th.
Both teams last played on Tuesday with the Heat defeating the Mavericks 107-99 while the Hornets battled the Nets losing 120-126 in overtime.
Last season, the squads played three times with Charlotte winning two of the three contests. The Heat holds the all-time record having bested the Hornets in 69 of their 115 matches.
Miami Heat
Ten unlucky teams have to play on the final night prior to the All-Star break and try to avoid getting caught in a trap game like the Celtics did by losing to the Pistons on Wednesday.
The Heat is one of those 10 teams and arrives having dropped a half-game back of the Bulls for the top seed in the East. A win versus the Hornets will push them back on top.
Every team has dealt with injuries and COVID outbreaks but few suffered to the same degree as Miami especially to core contributors.
Jimmy Butler (19), Bam Adebayo (25), Kyle Lowry (13), and Tyler Herro (12) missed between 12 and 25 games. That they managed to keep winning is a testament to their depth and culture.
Typically the top teams in each conference tend to send at least two players to the All-Star game but Butler is the lone Heat representative while the Bulls, Bucks, and Cavs each have two. Albeit, Erik Spoelstra and his staff will coach Team Durant while Butler is on Team LeBron.
Udonis Haslem (eye), Dewayne Dedmon (back), and Caleb Martin (Achilles) are questionable while Tyler Herro (knee) is doubtful for Thursday. Markieff Morris (conditioning) and Victor Oladipo (knee) are out indefinitely.
Charlotte Hornets
Near the end of December, it seemed the Hornets had turned a corner and were about to ascend up the East’s ladder winning 12 of 17 matches.
But then they hit a wall with opponents figuring out the trick to stopping them was not to get lured into track meet sessions and to force them to defend especially in the paint.
Subsequently, Charlotte has lost eight of their last nine matches stuck in 9th seed holding a slim half-game edge over the Hawks. They’re one mini losing streak from falling out of the play-in spots altogether.
Fortunately, the Wizards and Knicks are having their own issues with consistency trailing them by two and four games respectively but one good week could shift that dynamic.
LaMelo Ball is the lone Hornets representative and will play in both the Clorox Rising Stars game (Team Payton) as well as the marquee game on Sunday (Team Durant).
Jalen McDaniels (ankle) and Cody Martin (foot) were downgraded to out Thursday. Gordon Hayward (ankle) is out indefinitely.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Charlotte is 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games.
- The Heat are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Charlotte’s last 9 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 9 of Miami’s last 13 games.
Free Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets NBA Prediction:
Just as the Heat have navigated adversity this season they’ll similarly approach this final game before the break. Alternatively, the inconsistent Hornets would have to do something they seldom do to capture the win — defend for 48 minutes and remain focused.
Suffice to say I suggest taking the Heat to win and cover the spread.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Heat ATS
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