Oklahoma City Thunder vs Miami Heat Prediction, 3/18/2022 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Miami Heat

Date: Friday, March 18, 2022

Location: FTX Arena in Miami, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

FTX Arena is where the Miami Heat (46-24) will meet the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-49) on Friday.

The Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Spurs and went home with a loss by a final score of 122-120 in their last game. Oklahoma City finished the contest having earned a 52.4% field goal percentage (43 of 82) and converted 13 of 35 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Thunder converted 21 of their 29 shots for a rate of 72.4%. In regard to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 47 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 24 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 2 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In terms of the defense, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 43.9% from the floor on 43 out of 98 shooting. San Antonio doled out 48 assists and had 31 steals for the game. On top of that, San Antonio grabbed 33 rebounds (15 offensive, 18 defensive) and added 1 block. San Antonio went 85.0% when shooting free throws by converting 17 of 20 attempts. They converted 19 out of their 41 attempts from three-point range. With respect to fouls, the Thunder ended up with 18 while the Spurs finished the game with 12 fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a guy who was a factor in the game. He ended up finishing with 34 points on 14 out of 22 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins played and grabbed 6 boards. Gilgeous-Alexander ended up going 63.6% from the field and also totaled 8 dimes.

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Oklahoma City enters this one with a win-loss mark of 20-49 so far this year. They turn the ball over 13.8 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 18.3 personal fouls every game. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling down 45.8 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,511 dimes on the year, which is 28th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Thunder are shooting 31.6% on three-point attempts (815 of 2,580) and 76.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 103.0 pts per contest (30th in the league) while shooting 42.5% from the field.

On defense, the Thunder are able to force 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.8 fouls. They are conceding 35.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 15th in the NBA in opponents PPG (110.9). The Thunder defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.5% (2,843 of 6,247) and they surrender 48.7 boards per game as a team. They are 28th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,799 surrendered on the season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Heat walked away with a victory by a final of 105-98 against the Pistons. The Heat were able to snag 37 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 44 in this matchup. They also gave up possession 11 times, while recording 1 steal in this game. The Pistons had 12 fouls in this contest which got the Heat to the free throw line for 39 tries. They were able to make 35 of the free throws for a percentage of 89.7%. In the matter of 3-pointers, Miami converted 12 of their 33 attempts (36.4%). In all, the Heat finished the game shooting 29 out of 72 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.3%. The Heat permitted the Pistons to make 37 out of their 80 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3% for this contest. They finished 29.4% from 3-point land via 10 out of 34 and walked away from this one shooting 14 out of 22 from the charity stripe (63.6%). In regard to team rebounding, Miami allowed Detroit to grab 33 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Tyler Herro ended up being a major contributor for the Heat in the matchup. Herro earned 29 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 4 assists for this contest. He buried 8 of 15 for the game for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and had 5 rebounds.

Miami has a mark of 46-24 on the campaign. As an offense, the Heat are connecting on 46.2% from the floor, which is ranked 13th in basketball. Miami has scored 7,656 pts so far this year (109.4 per game) and they collect 44.4 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 25.6 times per game (6th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 14.6 times per contest. The Heat commit 20.6 fouls per game and they shoot 81.0% from the charity stripe.

The Miami defense gives up 34.0% on three-point shots (909 of 2,673) and opponents are converting on 77.4% of their free throw shots. They allow 23.1 dimes and 41.8 boards per game, which ranks them 5th and 1st in the league. The Heat on the defensive side of the court are 4th in the league in PPG surrendered with 104.7. They are able to force 15.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.3% from the floor (4th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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