Saturday, March 22, 7:00 PM on SUN, FSNO

Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Miami has slipped to 3 games behind the Pacers in the race for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference after a stretch of recent losses. Miami has dominated the Pelicans in 2013/14 and another Heat victory would go a long way in rebooting those home court playoff hopes. New Orleans is in the middle of another meddling season where they sit in the absolute middle of the NBA standings.

Both teams will be on the 2nd end of a back to back for Saturday night's game so it will be interesting to see if Miami rests Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, or even LeBron James, who has experienced back spasms lately. Miami was without James on Wednesday night when they dropped a 101-96 contest in Boston as 4.5 point favorites. The Heat's struggles include 6 losses in their last 10.

The Pelicans actually hold the advantage over Miami in rebounding, turnovers, and bench play but the Heat are stronger where it counts, points per game and defense. New Orleans has also dropped 6 of their last 10 and will be coming into Saturday night's game after a Friday night tilt in Atlanta.

The previous matchup this season was all Heat with Miami pulling out a 107-88 win on January 7th. The 19 point win was more than enough to cover the 8.5 point spread as LeBron James led 5 Heat players in double figures with 32 points. Anthony Davis played well for the Pelicans with 22 points and 12 rebounds but the total still went under the 204.5 line.

ATS Trends

Miami is 16-17-1 ATS on the road this season

Miami is 18-15-1 against the over/under on the road this season

New Orleans is 15-17-1 ATS at home this season

New Orleans is 18-15-0 against the over/under at home this season

Injuries to Watch

Miami 

03/20/14 F LeBron James Back questionable

New Orleans 

03/20/14 C Anthony Davis questionable
02/18/14 G Jrue Holiday Leg out for season
01/19/14 F Jason Smith Knee out for season
01/07/14 F Ryan Anderson Stinger out indefinitely

Josh's Pick: Take Miami

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