Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings Prediction, 2/18/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (-2.5)

The Sacramento Kings (12-15) host the Miami Heat (11-16) at Golden 1 Center on Thursday. Miami opens this matchup as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 224.

The Miami Heat faced the Los Angeles Clippers and took a loss by a score of 125-118 in their last game. Miami walked away from the game having earned a 50.5% field goal percentage (46 of 91) and buried 8 of 36 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Heat made 18 of 22 shots for a percentage of 81.8%. When talking about hauling in boards, they earned 39 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 27 assists for this game while getting 7 steals and 6 blocks. Regarding the defense, Miami allowed the other team to go 55.3% from the field on 47 of 85 shooting. Los Angeles dished out 31 assists and had 5 steals for the game. In addition, the Clippers pulled down 39 rebounds (7 offensive, 32 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Los Angeles went 80.0% from the free throw line by making 16 of their 20 attempts. They also converted 15 of their 32 attempts from distance.

Jimmy Butler is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He had 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 37:57 minutes and also grabbed 10 boards. Butler ended up shooting 52.6% from the floor and distributed 10 dimes. An additional guy that played a role in this matchup for the Heat was Bam Adebayo. He snagged 12 rebounds and also earned 7 assists. He finished the contest at 80.0% from the floor in the matchup by hitting 12-of-15 (27 points). Overall, Adebayo saw the court for 35:54 min.

Miami will take the court with a win-loss mark of 11-16 this year. The Heat are hitting 35.2% on shots from downtown (351 of 997) and 78.5% from the free throw line. They are averaging 106.6 pts per contest (27th in the league) while going 46.3% from the floor. They are turning it over 16.4 times per contest and as a unit are committing 19.8 fouls every game. As a unit, Miami is collecting 42.0 rebounds per game and has earned 687 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 13th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end, the Heat are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers every game and they draw 21.0 personal fouls. They are surrendering 37.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 7th in basketball in PPG allowed (110.1). The Heat defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.9% (405 of 568) and they concede 44.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They are 16th in the league in allowing assists with 677 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the Sacramento Kings went home defeated by a final of 136-125 when they faced the Brooklyn Nets. The Kings were able to pull down 26 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 41 for this game. They also stuffed 6 tries while recording 6 steals for the matchup. The Nets committed 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Kings to the charity stripe for a total of 13 tries. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a percentage of 84.6%. When discussing 3-pointers, Sacramento made 12 out of 33 attempts (36.4%). Overall, the Kings finished 51 out of 96 from the field which gave them a percentage of 53.1%. The Kings permitted the Nets to make 51 out of their 89 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 57.3% for the matchup. They shot 57.4% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 27 of 47 and ended up going 7 of 12 at the free throw line (58.3%). When talking about rebounding, Sacramento permitted Brooklyn to pull down 35 overall (9 offensive).

Cory Joseph was important for the Kings for this game. He converted 10 out of 13 for this contest for a rate of 76.9%, which had him sitting at 22 points. Joseph totaled 2 boards in his 30:42 mins of time on the court and earned 5 dimes in this contest. One more player that ended up playing a role for Sacramento was Buddy Hield. He ended up walking away with 21 points in 33:51 mins played via 7 of 13 shooting for the game. Hield ended up shooting 53.8% from the floor while also earning 4 assists and 3 boards.

Sacramento has a mark of 12-15 for the campaign. The Kings are committing 19.7 fouls every game and they shoot 72.1% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 25.7 times per contest (10th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.2 times per game. Sacramento has totaled 3,074 pts for the campaign (113.9 per game) and they average 43.1 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Kings are hitting on 47.8% from the field, which is ranked 8th in basketball. The Kings are ranked 30th in the NBA in points given up per game with 119.3. The Sacramento defense concedes 39.9% on shots from beyond the arc (365 of 915) and opponents are connecting on 80.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 26.3 dimes and 44.9 boards per game, which is 26th and 18th in basketball. They are able to force 13.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.4% from the field (30th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami (-2.5)

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