Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/18/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The Miami Heat are traveling to Smoothie King Center on Wednesday where they will play the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Heat played the Hawks and went home with a loss by a final score of 121-113 in their last contest. Miami wrapped up the contest with a 48.3% field goal percentage (43 out of 89) and buried 8 of 31 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the free throw line, the Heat made 19 of their 20 shots for a percentage of 95.0%. In terms of rebounding, they collected 41 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 30 dimes in this game as well as forcing 16 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In reference to the defense, Miami allowed their opponent to shoot 59.2% from the floor on 45 out of 76 shooting. Atlanta recorded 27 assists and had 9 steals for the game. On top of that, Atlanta had 28 rebounds (2 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Atlanta finished 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 18 of 22 tries. They made 13 of 27 tries from beyond the arc. Regarding personal fouls, the Heat ended up with 22 and the Hawks totaled 17 personal fouls.

Jimmy Butler is one guy who was a factor in the matchup. He ended up scoring 34 points on 11 out of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 34 mins and also collected 3 boards. Butler ended up shooting 68.8% from the floor and recorded 3 dimes.

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Miami will play this contest with a record of 24-21 this season. They are averaging 108.9 pts per game (30th in basketball) while shooting 45.3% from the field. The Heat are shooting 33.8% on three-point shots (545 of 1,611) and 83.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Miami is snagging 41.4 boards per game and has totaled 1,060 dimes so far this season, which is 21st in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.5 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Heat have forced 16.4 turnovers per game and they draw 19.6 fouls. They are giving up 36.8% from beyond the arc and they are 2nd in basketball in points per game allowed (108.8). The Heat are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.5% (1,786 of 3,760) and they concede 42.4 boards per contest as a squad. They are 23rd in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,138 conceded so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Pelicans went home defeated by a final of 113-103 when they played the Cavaliers. The Pelicans earned 25 defensive boards and 3 offensive boards totaling 28 in the matchup. They also gave up possession 17 times, while getting 9 steals in the game. The Cavaliers committed 19 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 22 attempts. They were able to make 17 of those for a clip of 77.3%. With respect to shots from downtown, New Orleans made 10 of their 27 attempts (37.0%). When all was said and done, the Pelicans finished 38 out of 75 from the floor which had them shooting 50.7%. The Pelicans allowed the Cavaliers to bury 39 of their 80 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.8% in this game. They finished 32.1% from distance by connecting on 9 of 28 and finished the game at 26 of 33 from the free throw line (78.8%). When talking about attacking the glass, New Orleans allowed Cleveland to collect 43 in all (13 offensive).

CJ McCollum was important for the Pelicans in the matchup. He buried 8 out of 20 for the game for a field goal rate of 40.0%, but didn't pull down a board. McCollum had 25 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 assists in this contest.

New Orleans has a mark of 26-18 so far this season. The Pelicans commit 20.5 personal fouls every game and they go 78.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 26.0 times per contest (9th in the NBA) and they turn it over 15.2 times per contest. New Orleans has totaled 5,148 pts on the campaign (117.0 per game) and they average 44.9 boards per game. As an offense, the Pelicans are shooting 48.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 8th in the league.

The Pelicans are ranked 15th in the league in points allowed per contest with 113.3. They are forcing their opponents into 15.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.1% from the field (15th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense concedes 34.0% on shots from 3-point land (544 of 1,599) and their opponents are connecting on 78.1% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 25.0 dimes and 41.9 total boards per game, which is ranked 13th and 4th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami

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