Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat Prediction, 12/8/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat

Date: Friday, December 8, 2023

Location: Kaseya Center in Miami, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Miami Heat (12-9) will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-9) at Kaseya Center on Friday.

The Cavaliers faced the Magic and earned the victory with a final of 121-111 in their last game. Cleveland finished the game having earned a 53.5% FG percentage (46 of 86) and converted 14 of 34 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Cavaliers converted 15 of their 20 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In reference to hauling in boards, they compiled 45 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 29 assists for the game in addition to creating 11 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In the matter of the defense, Cleveland allowed their opponent to shoot 48.8% from the field on 41 out of 84 shooting. Orlando earned 22 assists and had 10 steals for this contest. On top of that, Orlando pulled down 36 rebounds (7 offensive, 29 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Orlando finished 73.0% from the charity stripe by burying 27 of their 37 attempts. They made 2 of 23 attempts from distance. In reference to personal fouls, the Cavaliers ended up with 27 while the Magic accumulated 21 personal fouls.

Donovan Mitchell is someone who played a role in this contest. He totaled 35 points on 12 of 24 shooting. He saw the court for 37 minutes and also snagged 7 boards. Mitchell finished shooting 50.0% from the floor and also earned 6 dimes.

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Cleveland enters this one with a win-loss mark of 12-9 this season. They are averaging 111.3 pts per contest (23rd in basketball) while hitting 48.0% from the field. The Cavaliers are shooting 34.7% on 3-pointers (233 of 672) and 78.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Cleveland is pulling in 44.3 boards per game and has totaled 538 assists on the campaign, which ranks 13th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 14.7 times per game and as a group they commit 19.2 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Cavaliers are able to force 14.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 12th in basketball in giving up assists with 522 relinquished so far this year. The Cavaliers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 45.5% (845 of 1,858) and they concede 43.9 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 36.1% on three-point shots and they are 8th in the NBA in points per game allowed (111.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Heat went home victorious with a score of 112-103 against the Raptors. The Heat were able to snag 36 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 44 for the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. The Raptors committed 18 personal fouls for this contest which got the Heat to the charity stripe for a total of 19 shots. They were able to bury 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 84.2%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Miami converted 14 out of 38 attempts (36.8%). Overall, the Heat shot 41 for 89 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.1%. The Heat allowed the Raptors to make 37 of 86 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.0% in the matchup. They shot 37.8% from three-point range by going 14 of 37 and ended up shooting 15 out of 17 from the charity stripe (88.2%). In reference to rebounding, Miami permitted Toronto to get 46 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Caleb Martin ended up being a major contributor for the Heat in the matchup. Martin totaled 24 points in his 31 mins of playing time and totaled 3 dimes for this contest. He made 9 of 16 for this contest for a field goal rate of 56.3%, and had 12 rebounds.

Miami has a mark of 12-9 on the campaign. As an offensive team, the Heat are shooting 47.2% from the field, which is 14th in the league. Miami has tallied 2,374 pts on the year (113.0 per contest) and they pull in 40.9 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 26.3 times per contest (11th in the league) and they cough up possession 12.8 times per contest. The Heat commit 18.6 fouls per game and they shoot 84.5% from the free throw line.

The Miami defense allows 37.8% on three-point shots (284 of 751) and their opponents are making 76.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 26.5 assists and 42.7 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 19th and 8th in the NBA. The Heat are ranked 11th in the league in points per game surrendered with 111.6. They have forced 15.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.5% from the field (22nd in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Miami

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