Cavaliers vs Heat Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Wednesday, March 8th

Check out our free Cavaliers vs Heat pick and preview for this NBA game in Miami. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Cavaliers vs Heat NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
Where: Miami at Miami-Dade Arena
Date: Wednesday, March 8th
Betting Odds MIA +2.5, CLE -139 | MIA +116 O/U 212.0

The Cavaliers come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 41-26. So far, the team has gone 37-29-1 against the spread. Over the team’s 2 game win streak, they have an average scoring differential of 14.0 points per game.

Cleveland is going for another win in today’s game, as they previously took down the Celtics. Going into the game, they were 8 point favorites against the spread. Their 118-114 victory was not enough to cover. Cleveland pulled out the surprising comeback win, despite going into the 4th quarter trailing by 14 points. Leading the team in scoring was Donovan Mitchell, as he contributed 40 points while hitting 41.2% of his shots.

The Heat come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 35-31. So far, the team has gone 24-40-2 against the spread. Miami comes into the game having rattled off 2 straight wins. In these victories, the team has an average scoring margin of 5.0 points per game

Miami is going for another win in today’s game, as they previously took down the Hawks. Going into the game, they were 2 point favorites against the spread. Their 130-128 victory was not enough to cover. Miami was able to come home with the win due to strong 2nd half effort. Heading into the 2nd half, the team faced a 5 point deficit. Leading the team in scoring was Jimmy Butler, as he contributed 26 points while hitting 57.1% of his shots.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

In the most recent matchup between the two teams, the Cavaliers picked up the 113-87 win over the Heat. The Cavaliers point margin of victory was enough to cover the spread as 7.5 point favorite. So far, the two team’s have split their season series, with each team at 1-1. Similar to their season-long average, the Cavaliers averaged 107.0 points per game vs the Heat. While the Cavaliers were able to maintain their usual level of production against Miami, the Heat averaged fewer points per game in the series, at 98.67. In terms of betting, Cleveland has an ATS record of 3-2 in the previous 5 matchups vs Miami. This mark has come on an average scoring margin of +10 points per game in favor of the Cavaliers. Cleveland and Miami averaged a combined 202 points per game in these games, leading to an over-under mark of 1-4.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

Through 67 games, the Cavaliers are averaging 112.1 points per contest, placing them 24th in the NBA. So far, the Cavaliers are averaging 95.9 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. Although the team tends to play at a more deliberate pace, they are currently one of the more efficient shooting teams, connecting on field goal attempts at a rate of 48.8%.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are one of the top performing units in the league, giving up 105.67 points per contest (5th).

This season, the Cavaliers offense has primarily worked through Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland who are 1st and 2nd on the team in scoring. In his 56 games, Mitchell is 10th in the NBA at 27.6 points per game. So far, him and Garland have accounted for 43% of the team’s field goal attempts while combining to average 49.5 points per contest. In addition to sitting 2nd on the team in scoring, Darius Garland is grabbing 2.7 rebounds for Cleveland to go along with 7.9 assists.

This season, the Miami offense has had their problems scoring the ball as they are a below average unit at 108.5 points per game. Coming into today’s game, the Heat will be looking to improve their 3-point shooting numbers, as they are averaging just 11.7 made 3’s per game. One area of the team’s offense that has been effective is their ability to get to the free-throw line. So far, they are ranked 12th, with an average of 19.1 made free-throws per game.

On the defensive end of the floor, the Heat are giving up an average of 105.57 points per game, good for 4th in the NBA.

On offense, Bam Adebayo leads the Heat in scoring at 21.2 points per game, placing him 42nd in the NBA. Overall, Adebayo has hit 54.0% of his shots while accounting for 18.0% of the team’s looks from the field. In today’s game, he will be working against a defensive unit that is 4th in points allowed to centers. At 21.9 points per game, Jimmy Butler is the 2nd leading scorer for the Heat. For the season, he is 16th in the league in player efficiency rating, while posting a field goal percentage of 52.1%.