Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 2/23/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, February 23, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans (33-22) welcome the Miami Heat (30-25) at Smoothie King Center on Friday.

The Heat faced off with the 76ers and went home with a win by a final score of 109-104 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Heat finished with 17 and the 76ers totaled 20 fouls. They made 10 out of their 35 tries from beyond the arc. Philadelphia finished 75.0% from the free throw line by burying 12 of their 16 attempts. Additionally, Philadelphia grabbed 39 boards (6 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 1 block. Philadelphia recorded 29 assists and had 3 steals for the contest. In reference to defense, Miami let their opponent shoot 47.7% from the field on 41 of 86 shooting. They also distributed 27 assists in the game as well as forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. In regard to hauling in rebounds, they earned 43 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Heat knocked down 14 of their 15 tries for a rate of 93.3%. Miami finished the contest having earned a 47.7% field goal percentage (42 of 88) and made 11 of their 35 3-pointers.

Bam Adebayo is someone who came through for the contest. Adebayo went 64.3% from the floor and dished out 4 assists. He was on the hardwood for 39 minutes and also snagged 13 boards. He ended up scoring 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

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Miami enters this one with a mark of 30-25 on the year. They average 110.6 points per game (27th in the league) while going 46.3% from the field. The Heat are connecting on 37.2% on shots from distance (684 of 1,841) and 82.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Miami is pulling down 42.2 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,427 assists on the season, which has them ranked 20th in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 13.0 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.1 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Heat have forced 13.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 fouls. They currently rank 17th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,476 surrendered on the year. The Heat defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.4% (2,241 of 4,730) and they relinquish 42.8 boards per game as a basketball team. They concede 36.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 4th in the league in points per game allowed (110.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pelicans took home the win by a final score of 133-126 when they played the Wizards. When talking about team rebounding, New Orleans permitted Washington to collect 42 in all (15 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 46.7% from 3-point land by shooting 21 of 45 and finished the game at 17 out of 20 from the free throw line (85.0%). The Pelicans allowed the Wizards to knock down 44 of 92 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 47.8% in this matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans went 50 out of 89 from the floor which had them sitting at 56.2%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, New Orleans made 10 of 32 attempts (31.3%). They were able to convert 23 of the free throws for a percentage of 79.3%. The Wizards committed 22 fouls for the matchup which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 29 shots. They also turned it over 10 times, while recording 14 steals for the game. The Pelicans pulled down 31 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in this matchup.

Zion Williamson was important for the Pelicans for this contest. Williamson scored 36 points in his 34 mins on the court and tallied 8 assists for the contest. He converted 15 of 21 in this contest for a rate of 71.4%, and accumulated 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 33-22 for the campaign. As an offense, the Pelicans are hitting on 48.9% from the floor, which ranks 9th in the league. New Orleans has scored 6,405 pts so far this season (116.5 per contest) and they average 44.2 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 27.1 times per game (12th in the league) and they are giving up possession 13.2 times per contest. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 19.2 personal fouls per contest while shooting 76.6% from the free throw line.

The Pelicans are ranked 8th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 112.2. They are able to force 14.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (6th in basketball). The New Orleans defense surrenders 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (738 of 2,135) and their opponents are connecting on 78.7% of their foul shots. They have allowed 26.9 assists and 42.1 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 18th and 8th in the NBA.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami

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