Heat vs. Clippers Betting Line – January 13
Carrie Stroup here with your Heat vs. Clippers betting line for Wednesday L.A Clippers -5.5, Total: 198
MIAMI HEAT (22-16) at LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (25-13)
The Heat will be looking to get back on track when they face a Clippers team that has suddenly won nine straight games heading into Wednesday.
Miami faced Golden State on Monday and lost 111-103 as a 14.5-point road underdog. The Heat have now lost two straight games and three of their past four as well. This team prides itself on its ability to play defense, but the Heat’s opponents have shot 54% or better in two of the past four contests.
The Clippers are as hot as could be at the moment. Los Angeles has won nine straight games and has covered in seven of those contests. This team has been scorching hot from the field as well, shooting 45% or better in six of the nine wins.
Recently, the Heat have gotten the best of this head-to-head series. Miami is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS when facing Los Angeles since 2013. Another thing favoring the Heat is that the team is 10-4-1 ATS when coming off of a SU loss this season. They are also 11-4 SU and 9-5-1 ATS versus Western Conference opponents on the year. The Clippers, however, are 10-3 SU and 7-4-2 ATS versus Eastern Conference opponents on the year.
PF Josh McRoberts (Knee) is out indefinitely for the Heat and C Hassan Whiteside (Knee) is questionable for this one. For Los Angeles, PF Blake Griffin (Quad) remains out indefinitely.
The Heat are coming off of a tough loss in Golden State on Monday and will now look to earn a victory over a red-hot Clippers bunch. If the Heat are going to win then SG Dwyane Wade (18.5 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 SPG) will need to play a spectacular game. Wade was good against the Warriors, finishing with 20 points, 11 assists and seven boards in 33 minutes. He was, however, just 6-for-20 from the field in that game. He will need to shoot the ball a lot better in this game against Los Angeles.
PF Chris Bosh (19.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG) is also going to need to shoot the ball well in order to pick up a win on Wednesday. Bosh had 15 points, 12 boards, four assists and two blocks against the Warriors, but he was really lousy from the field. Bosh finished the game just 6-for-15 from the field and a terrible 0-for-5 from the outside. The Heat rely heavily on Bosh’s ability to shoot and stretch the floor, so he will need to find his touch quickly.
The Clippers are playing some unbelievable basketball right now and PG Chris Paul (18.1 PPG, 9.5 APG, 1.9 SPG) is in a groove offensively. Paul had 25 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals in 40 minutes against the Pelicans on Sunday. It was his second straight game with 25 points and Paul had 21 points and 19 assists in a win over Portland three games ago. He will need to continue to be aggressive as a scorer with Griffin out of the lineup and he should be able to put up some solid numbers against a struggling Miami team on Tuesday.
Other guys who need to continue to play well are SG J.J. Redick (15.9 PPG) and C DeAndre Jordan (11.6 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.4 BPG). Redick is averaging 18.0 PPG over the past five contests and is shooting 50% from the outside in those games. He is really stepping it up offensively with Griffin out and Jordan is making up for the loss of Griffin on the boards. Over the past five games, the Clippers big man is averaging 14.0 PPG and 15.4 RPG. He makes it extremely tough on opponents inside and must continue to anchor this defense moving forward.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
