Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/30/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Friday, December 30, 2022

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Ball Arena is the site where the Denver Nuggets will go up against the Miami Heat on Friday.

The Heat played the Lakers and took home the win by a score of 112-98 in their last game. Miami ended the contest having earned a 47.8% field goal percentage (44 of 92) and knocked down 11 of 35 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Heat converted 13 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 81.3%. With regard to rebounding, they earned a total of 37 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 20 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 24 turnovers and earning 14 steals. Pertaining to defending, Miami allowed 48.1% from the field on 37 of 77 shooting. Los Angeles doled out 25 assists and had 2 steals in this contest. In addition, Los Angeles collected 44 rebounds (8 offensive, 36 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Los Angeles finished 73.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 11 of 15 tries. They also made 13 of 36 attempts from distance. With respect to personal fouls, the Heat ended up finishing with 15 while the Lakers recorded 16 personal fouls.

Jimmy Butler is a guy who was important in the matchup. Butler went 61.1% from the field and also earned 4 assists. He played 35 minutes and also snagged 5 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 27 points on 11 out of 18 shooting.

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Miami enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 18-17 for the campaign. They average 108.2 pts per game (30th in the league) on 45.2% from the field. The Heat are shooting 34.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (435 of 1,279) and 82.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Miami is collecting 40.7 boards per game and has accounted for 833 assists for the campaign, which is 17th in the NBA in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.5 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.9 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Heat are able to force 16.5 turnovers per game while drawing 19.9 fouls. They are surrendering 36.2% on shots from downtown and they are 4th in the league in points per game allowed (108.9). The Heat defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.5% (1,406 of 2,959) and they surrender 43.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 22nd in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 898 surrendered for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Nuggets took a loss by a final score of 127-126 when they faced the Kings. The Nuggets earned 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 34 for the contest. They turned it over 16 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. The Kings earned 17 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to bury 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 88.9%. In terms of shooting from distance, Denver made 12 of 27 attempts (44.4%). Overall, the Nuggets walked away from this one shooting 49 for 85 from the floor which had them sitting at 57.6%. The Nuggets allowed the Kings to convert 47 out of 89 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.8% in the game. They wrapped up this game 45.2% from three-point range by shooting 14 of 31 and finished the game at 19 of 25 at the free throw line (76.0%). In reference to rebounds, Denver allowed Sacramento to grab 34 in total (11 offensive).

Nikola Jokic ended up having an impact for the Nuggets in this game. He made 15 out of 24 for the matchup giving him a rate of 62.5%, and accounted for 7 rebounds. Jokic tallied 40 points in his 32 minutes on the court and accounted for 6 dimes for this contest.

Denver has a mark of 22-12 on the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Nuggets are hitting on 50.6% from the field, which has them ranked 2nd in the NBA. Denver has accounted for 3,950 pts for the campaign (116.2 per game) and they collect 43.0 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 28.5 times per game (2nd in basketball) and they are turning it over 15.1 times per contest. The Nuggets commit 19.5 fouls every game while shooting 74.3% from the charity stripe.

The Denver defense concedes 36.4% on 3-point attempts (427 of 1,173) and their opposition makes 75.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 26.4 dimes and 40.0 total boards per game, ranking them 28th and 2nd in the NBA. The Nuggets on the defensive side of the court are 17th in basketball in PPG given up with 114.2. They are forcing 13.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 48.7% from the floor (27th in basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Miami

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