Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat Prediction, 12/8/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat

Date: Sunday, December 8, 2024

Location: Kaseya Center in Miami, FL

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Miami Heat (10-10) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (20-3) at Kaseya Center on Sunday.

The Cavaliers faced off with the Nuggets and notched a win by a score of 126-114 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Cavaliers walked away with 17 and the Nuggets accounted for 13 fouls. They also converted 6 out of their 24 attempts from distance. Denver finished the game at 72.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of 22 attempts. In addition, Denver pulled down 49 rebounds (9 offensive, 40 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Denver recorded 25 assists and had 12 steals for the contest. In relation to the defense, Cleveland allowed the other team to shoot 47.9% from the floor on 46 of 96 shooting. They also distributed 32 assists in the matchup while forcing 16 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In terms of rebounding, they earned 47 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers converted 10 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 62.5%. Cleveland finished the contest having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (47 of 94) and made 22 of their 48 shots from beyond the arc.

Donovan Mitchell is one guy who came through for the matchup. Mitchell ended up shooting 45.8% from the floor and also totaled 6 assists. He played 33 mins played and snagged 3 boards. He racked up 28 points on 11 of 24 shooting.

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Cleveland enters this matchup with a record of 20-3 so far this year. They turn it over 13.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling in 43.2 boards per contest and is sitting with 649 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 5th in basketball in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are hitting 40.5% on three-point shots (358 of 884) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 122.0 points per game (1st in basketball) while going 50.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 15.9 turnovers every game and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They concede 37.2% on 3-point attempts and they are 12th in basketball in PPG allowed (111.4). The Cavaliers defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.5% (935 of 2,053) and they surrender 43.8 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They currently rank 16th in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 588 relinquished on the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Heat walked away with a victory by a final of 134-93 when they played the Lakers. The Heat were able to corral 39 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards totaling 52 in this matchup. They also turned the ball over 16 times, while getting 11 steals for this contest. The Lakers were called for 8 fouls in this game which took the Heat to the free throw line for 9 attempts. They were able to make 6 of those for a clip of 66.7%. With regard to three-point shots, Miami made 24 out of their 47 attempts (51.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Heat shot 52 for 90 from the floor which had them shooting 57.8%. The Heat allowed the Lakers to bury 37 of 88 attempts from the field which left them shooting 42.0% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 22.7% from distance by shooting 5 out of 22 and ended up going 14 out of 19 from the free throw line (73.7%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Miami allowed Los Angeles to get 36 in all (12 offensive).

Tyler Herro ended up being a factor for the Heat for the matchup. Herro had 31 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 assists in this matchup. He buried 11 out of 19 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 57.9%, and added 5 rebounds.

Miami has a record of 10-10 so far this season. The Heat are responsible for committing 16.3 fouls per game and they hit 77.5% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 26.3 times per contest (13th in the league) and they cough up possession 12.8 times per game. Miami has totaled 2,226 points so far this season (111.3 per contest) and they pull in 43.5 boards per game. As an offense, the Heat are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which is ranked 24th in the league.

The Heat on the defensive end are ranked 6th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 109.0. They are forcing their opponents into 15.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.2% from the field (13th in the NBA). The Miami defense surrenders 35.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (271 of 762) and opponents are making 79.5% of their free throw shots. They allow 26.7 assists and 46.1 total rebounds per game, ranking them 21st and 28th in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland

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