The last editions of the NBA finals have featured the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat, with the teams splitting championship titles. The chances of them making it to the finals for a third straight season look pretty slim at the moment. If the season ended today, both teams would have a low seeding, and would therefore have a very difficult road through conference play. So let’s get on the NBA betting preview and analyze the odds and info heading to this game.
Date/Time: Friday, February 6th, 9:30 PM
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Opening Line: San Antonio -10.5
You will often hear about how one person does not make a team, but try telling that to this version of the Miami Heat. They have compiled a 21-28 record without LeBron James this year, and are clinging on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for dear life. Defensively, this is a solid unit, as they have the second best points against average (96.3) in the NBA. Where thing have gone south for the Heat, though, is on offense, as they are ranked number 29, scoring just 92.6 PPG. Dwyane Wade is doing his best to keep up his end of the bargain with 21.4 PPG, but he is not getting a lot of help from his supporting cast. Miami has now lost 4 of their last 5, and are in danger of falling out of that final playoff spot if that trend continues.
It seems that every new season brings chatter about how the San Antonio Spurs are getting too long in the tooth to be a legitimate contender. The wily old veterans, led by Coach Greg Popovich, always turn up the heat when the games really matter, but their play to this point in the season makes you wonder if they can pull one more playoff run out of the bag. If their last 10 games are anything to go by, we might suggest that they just might be rounding into form at the right time. They have won 8 of those last 10 games, going unbeaten at home during that stretch. This match-up against Miami will give them an opportunity to pad their home stats before they head out on a 9-game road trip that could well shape the remainder of their regular season.
Miami actually have a better road record than they do at home, but that is still likely not going to be enough to get them past a surging Spurs team. The Heat defense is going to have a difficult time slowing down a Spurs offense that is averaging over 101 PPG. I like San Antonio to win this one going away, while putting some points on the board in the process.
