Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 4/23/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: NBA TV

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+11.0)

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is the location where the Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18) will take on the Miami Heat (37-45) after taking Game 1 on Wednesday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Cleveland opens this contest as 11-point favorites. The total is 212.

In Game 1, the Heat took a loss by a score of 121-100. With respect to fouls, the Heat ended up finishing with 15 and the Cavaliers accumulated 13 fouls. They converted 18 out of their 43 tries from 3-point range. Cleveland finished the game at 81.3% from the free throw line by making 13 of 16 tries. On top of that, Cleveland grabbed 42 rebounds (14 offensive, 28 defensive) and earned 4 blocks. Cleveland dished out 21 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. In reference to the defense, Miami allowed 51.1% from the field on 45 out of 88 shooting. They also distributed 23 dimes in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 37 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Heat buried 9 of their 12 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Miami ended the contest having earned a 48.8% FG percentage (39 out of 80) and knocked down 13 of their 31 shots from beyond the arc.

Bam Adebayo is a player who came through for the contest. He was able to score 24 points on 10 of 22 shooting. He played 39 minutes played and also pulled down 9 rebounds. Adebayo went 45.5% from the floor and earned 3 assists.

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Miami will take the court with a record of 37-45 so far this year. They are averaging 110.6 points per outing (24th in the league) while hitting 46.5% from the floor. The Heat are shooting 36.7% on shots from downtown (1,124 of 3,060) and 79.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Miami is pulling down 43.4 rebounds per game and has totaled 2,166 assists on the season, which ranks 14th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 13.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.5 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Heat have forced 13.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 fouls. They give up 36.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 7th in the league in points per game allowed (110.0). The Heat defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 46.6% (3,383 of 7,262) and they relinquish 44.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 15th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,176 surrendered for the campaign.

With respect to team rebounding in Game 1, Cleveland permitted Miami to get 37 in total (11 offensive). They shot 41.9% from 3-point land by shooting 13 out of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Cavaliers permitted the Heat to bury 39 of their 80 tries from the floor which had them at 48.8% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Cavaliers walked away from this one shooting 45 for 88 from the floor which had them at 51.1%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, Cleveland made 18 of 43 tries (41.9%). They were able to bury 13 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 81.3%. The Heat earned 15 personal fouls in this game which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 8 steals for this contest. The Cavaliers were able to collect 28 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 for the contest.

Donovan Mitchell ended up being a major contributor for the Cavaliers in the matchup. Mitchell had 30 points in his 33 minutes on the court and earned 4 dimes for the matchup. He buried 11 of 19 for the game for a field goal rate of 57.9%, and accumulated 5 rebounds.

Cleveland has a win-loss mark of 64-18 on the campaign. The Cavaliers are committing 18.1 fouls per game while shooting 77.6% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 28.1 times per game (9th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 13.2 times per game. Cleveland has totaled 9,999 points for the year (121.9 per game) and they pull in 45.4 boards per contest. As an offense, the Cavaliers are shooting 49.1% from the floor, which is ranked 2nd in the league.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 12th in the league in PPG surrendered with 112.4. They are forcing 14.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.4% from the floor (3rd in basketball). The Cleveland defense concedes 35.9% from downtown (1,104 of 3,075) and opponents are making 77.9% of their foul shots. They allow 25.6 dimes and 43.5 boards per game, which ranks them 8th and 11th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland (-11.0)

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