Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 3/8/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, March 8, 2024

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

The Oklahoma City Thunder (43-19) will try to beat the Miami Heat (35-26) at Paycom Center on Friday.

The Heat faced the Pistons and notched a win by a score of 118-110 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Heat finished with 14 while the Pistons finished the game with 16 fouls. They knocked down 12 out of their 42 attempts from beyond the arc. Detroit ended up going 90.9% from the charity stripe by making 20 of their 22 attempts. In addition, Detroit pulled down 42 rebounds (10 offensive, 32 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Detroit recorded 26 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. Pertaining to defense, Miami let their opponent shoot 43.8% from the floor on 39 out of 89 shooting. They also recorded 27 assists for the contest while forcing 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they earned 42 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Heat buried 20 of 23 tries for a rate of 87.0%. Miami ended the game with a 49.4% FG percentage (42 of 85) and made 14 of 31 3-pointers.

Jimmy Butler is one guy who played a role in this contest. Butler finished shooting 53.8% from the floor and recorded 8 assists. He saw the court for 37 minutes played and also snagged 6 boards. He finished with 26 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

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Miami enters this matchup with a mark of 35-26 so far this year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.9 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 17.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Miami is pulling down 42.0 boards per contest and has totaled 1,584 assists for the season, which ranks 20th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Heat are connecting on 37.5% on shots from beyond the arc (756 of 2,017) and 81.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 110.8 pts per contest (27th in the league) while connecting on 46.5% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Heat are forcing 13.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.3 fouls. They currently rank 13th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,622 surrendered on the year. The Heat defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 47.0% (2,477 of 5,265) and they surrender 42.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They give up 36.1% on 3-point shots and they rank 6th in the league in points per game allowed (109.9).

The last time they took the court, the Thunder took home the win by a final score of 128-120 when they faced the Trail Blazers. When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Portland to collect 32 in all (7 offensive). They went 41.2% from distance by connecting on 14 of 34 and finished the game at 24 out of 27 at the charity stripe (88.9%). The Thunder allowed the Trail Blazers to convert 41 of 81 tries from the floor which had them shooting 50.6% in this game. Overall, the Thunder went 43 out of 74 from the field which had them sitting at 58.1%. With respect to 3-pointers, Oklahoma City converted 9 of 22 tries (40.9%). They were able to convert 33 of those for a rate of 84.6%. The Trail Blazers had 28 fouls in this game which took the Thunder to the free throw line for a total of 39 tries. They coughed up the ball 18 times, while earning 10 steals in the game. The Thunder earned 32 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 39 for the contest.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up being a major contributor for the Thunder for the game. Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 37 points in his 36 mins of playing time and had 5 assists in this game. He made 13 of 23 for the game giving him a rate of 56.5%, and tallied 3 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a record of 43-19 this year. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 50.1% from the field, which ranks 2nd in the NBA. Oklahoma City has scored 7,503 points so far this year (121.0 per contest) and they pull down 41.5 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.8 times per contest (12th in the league) and they are turning it over 12.5 times per game. The Thunder have committed 19.3 fouls per contest while shooting 83.3% from the charity stripe.

The Thunder are ranked 13th in the NBA in points given up per game with 113.4. They are able to force 15.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 45.3% from the floor (3rd in basketball). The Oklahoma City defense surrenders 36.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (842 of 2,312) and opponents are making 78.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 26.9 assists and 45.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 19th and 25th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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