Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic Prediction, 12/23/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic

Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL

TV: Fox Sports Florida

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (-2.5)

The Miami Heat (44-29 last year) are headed to Amway Center on Wednesday where they'll take on the Orlando Magic (33-40 last season). Miami opens this game as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 220.5.

Miami comes into this game after finishing with a record of 44-29 last year. They lost possession by turning the ball over 14.9 times per contest and as a basketball team committed 20.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a squad, Miami collected 44.4 boards per game and accounted for 1,892 assists last season, which had them ranked 5th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Heat connected on 37.9% on shots from downtown (979 of 2,584) and 78.3% from the free throw line. They averaged 112.0 points per outing (15th in basketball) while going 46.8% from the floor. On the defensive end, the Heat forced their opponents into 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 21.7 personal fouls. The Heat allowed a shooting percentage of 44.8% (2,831 of 6,326) and they conceded 42.5 rebounds per game as a squad. They were 21st in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,794 conceded last season. They conceded 34.7% on 3-point attempts and they were 10th in the NBA in PPG allowed (109.1).

The Miami Heat played the Los Angeles Lakers and took a loss by a final of 106-93 in their last game of the NBA Finals. Miami finished the contest with a 44.3% field goal percentage (35 out of 79) and converted 10 out of their 28 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Heat made 13 of 22 shots for a rate of 59.1%. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected 41 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 25 assists in the game while having 4 steals and 4 rejections. In the matter of defending, Miami allowed the other team to go 48.3% from the floor on 43 out of 89. Los Angeles earned 23 assists and 5 steals in this game. Moreover, the Lakers totaled 46 rebounds (12 offensive, 34 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Los Angeles ended up shooting 64.3% at the charity stripe by making 9 of their 14 tries. They knocked down 11 of 35 tries from distance.

Jimmy Butler is a guy who saw a lot of action for this game. He totaled 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 44:32 and pulled down 7 rebounds. Butler shot 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 8 assists. One more player that saw the court a lot in this contest for the Heat was Bam Adebayo. He snagged 10 rebounds and also tallied 5 assists. He shot 66.7% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 10-of-15 (25 points). Overall, Adebayo saw the court for 42:13.

Orlando had a win-loss record of 33-40 last season. The Magic were responsible for committing 18.3 fouls every game and they connected on 77.4% from the free throw line. They got an assist 23.9 times per game (18th in the league) and they lost possession by turning the ball over 12.8 times per game. Orlando totaled 7,831 pts last season (107.3 per contest) and they averaged 44.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Magic connected on 44.4% from the field, which ranked them 27th in basketball. The Magic on the defensive side of the court were 5th in basketball in points given up per game with 108.3. The Orlando defense gave up 36.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (893 of 2,453) and their opponents converted on 77.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They forced 14.6 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (18th in basketball). They relinquished 24.7 assists and 44.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which was ranked 17th and 15th in the NBA.

For their last game, the Orlando Magic walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 118-104 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Magic were able to pull down 39 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 for the game. They stuffed 2 tries while recording 3 steals for this game. The Bucks committed 19 personal fouls for this game which got the Magic to the free throw line for a total of 21 shots. They were able to bury 15 of them for a percentage of 71.4%. When discussing three-point attempts, Orlando knocked down 15 of their 41 attempts (36.6%). Overall, the Magic finished shooting 37 for 94 from the field which had them at 39.4%. The Magic permitted the Bucks to make 40 out of their 88 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 45.5% for the game. They went 35.6% from 3-point land by going 16 out of 45 and finished the game at 22 of 27 from the charity stripe (81.5%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Orlando allowed Milwaukee to pull down 56 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Nikola Vučević played a lot for the Magic in the game. He converted 9 of 25 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 36.0%, which got him 22 points. Vučević pulled down 15 boards in his 39:32 of time on the hardwood and had 5 assists in the game. Another guy who saw a lot of action for Orlando was Evan Fournier. He walked away with 18 points in his 32:48 played via 5 of 12 from the floor for this game. Fournier finished going 41.7% from the field and also totaling 3 assists and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Miami (-2.5)

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