Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/4/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+1.5)

Smoothie King Center is the venue where and the New Orleans Pelicans (15-19) will play the Miami Heat (17-18) on Thursday. Miami opens this contest as 1.5-point dogs. The O/U has been set at 227.

The Miami Heat faced off with the Atlanta Hawks and took a loss by a score of 94-80 in their last contest. Miami walked away from the contest having earned a 37.3% FG percentage (28 out of 75) and made 9 of their 33 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Heat converted 15 of 22 shots for a rate of 68.2%. In relation to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 26 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 15 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 23 turnovers and having 16 steals. With respect to the defense, Miami allowed the other team to go 47.9% from the floor on 34 out of 71 shooting. Atlanta recorded 26 assists and had 5 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Atlanta collected 47 boards (11 offensive, 36 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Atlanta finished 86.7% at the charity stripe by burying 13 of their 15 shots. They buried 13 of 36 tries from beyond the arc.

Duncan Robinson is one guy who had an impact in the matchup. He ended up scoring 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He played for 30:47 minutes and also pulled down 1 rebound. Robinson finished the game at 45.5% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. An additional guy that had an impact in this contest for the Heat was Goran Dragic. He snagged 3 rebounds in 30:12 minutes played on the night. He finished the game at 45.5% from the field for this game by going 5-of-11 (14 points). When this game wrapped up, Dragic had 4 assists.

Miami enters this one with a mark of 17-18 so far this season. They are averaging 106.9 points per outing (26th in the NBA) while hitting 46.2% from the field. The Heat are shooting 35.3% on three-point shots (450 of 1,274) and 79.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Miami is pulling down 42.4 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 902 dimes so far this year, which is 8th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 15.8 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 19.6 fouls every game. Defensively, the Heat are able to force 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.9 fouls. The Heat defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.8% (535 of 730) and they surrender 43.6 boards per contest as a unit. They are ranked 21st in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 885 conceded on the campaign. They concede 36.5% on shots from distance while they are 5th in the league in PPG allowed (108.8).

In their last game, the New Orleans Pelicans walked away with a victory by a final of 129-124 against the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans pulled down 43 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 53 for this game. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 5 steals in this contest. The Jazz were called for 22 fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 23 tries. They were able to make 18 of the free throws for a rate of 78.3%. Regarding three-point shots, New Orleans knocked down 7 of their 11 tries (63.6%). When all was said and done, the Pelicans went 52 for 92 from the field which gave them a percentage of 56.5%. The Pelicans permitted the Jazz to convert 46 of their 101 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.5% in this matchup. They finished shooting 39.5% from distance by connecting on 17 out of 43 and ended up shooting 15 of 18 at the free throw line (83.3%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, New Orleans permitted Utah to collect 39 in all (11 offensive).

Brandon Ingram was important for the Pelicans in this matchup. He knocked down 11 out of 20 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 55.0%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Ingram had 26 points in his 38:14 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 5 assists for this game. An additional guy that was important for New Orleans was Zion Williamson. He left the arena with 5 dimes in his 33:57 minutes on the hardwood, and he knocked down 10 out of 17 from the floor. Williamson ended up shooting 58.8% from the floor as well as earning 26 points and 10 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 15-19 on the season. The Pelicans commit 17.4 personal fouls per contest while shooting 73.2% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 25.4 times per game (12th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.0 times per game. New Orleans has scored 3,940 pts for the campaign (115.9 per contest) and they grab 46.5 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pelicans are connecting on 48.5% from the field, which is ranked 4th in the league. The Pelicans on defense are ranked 26th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 115.9. They relinquish 27.7 assists and 40.6 rebounds per game, which is 29th and 1st in the NBA. The New Orleans defense surrenders 39.4% on 3-point attempts (538 of 1,366) and opponents are converting on 79.6% of their free throw shots. They have forced 13.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.5% from the floor (25th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans (-1.5)

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