Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 4/11/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, April 11, 2025

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans (21-58) are hosting the Miami Heat (36-44) at Smoothie King Center on Friday.

The Heat faced off with the Bulls and ended up losing by a score of 119-111 in their last game. Miami finished having earned a 47.8% FG percentage (44 of 92) and converted 12 of their 33 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Heat buried 11 of their 17 attempts for a percentage of 64.7%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 39 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 28 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and having 11 steals. Concerning the defense, Miami let their opponent shoot 51.7% from the floor on 46 out of 89 shooting. Chicago distributed 33 assists and had 8 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Chicago pulled down 46 rebounds (10 offensive, 36 defensive) and got 3 rejections. Chicago walked away from this one shooting 100.0% from the free throw line by making 13 of 13 shots. They also buried 14 of their 37 tries from downtown. In reference to personal fouls, the Heat walked away with 10 and the Bulls finished the game with 14 personal fouls.

Tyler Herro is one player who was a major contributor in the game. He left the arena with 30 points on 13 out of 26 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes and collected 4 rebounds. Herro shot 50.0% from the floor and recorded 4 assists.

Get all of our NBA Betting Picks

Miami comes into this game with a mark of 36-44 this year. They lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Miami is grabbing 43.2 rebounds per game and has 2,102 assists on the season, which has them ranked 14th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Heat are shooting 36.7% on three-point shots (1,094 of 2,983) and 79.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 110.0 points per outing (25th in the league) while connecting on 46.3% from the field.

On defense, the Heat have forced 13.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.0 personal fouls. They are conceding 35.8% on shots from downtown while they are 7th in basketball in opponents points per game (110.0). The Heat defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.6% (3,299 of 7,077) and they surrender 44.7 boards per contest as a unit. They are ranked 15th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,116 surrendered this season.

In their last game, the Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-114 when they played the Nets. In reference to cleaning the glass, New Orleans permitted Brooklyn to collect 40 in total (7 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 42.5% from distance by going 17 of 40 and finished the game at 20 out of 24 from the charity stripe (83.3%). The Pelicans allowed the Nets to make 41 of 83 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.4% in the matchup. When all was said and done, the Pelicans shot 39 for 82 from the field which had them at 47.6%. In terms of shots from distance, New Orleans knocked down 12 out of their 33 tries (36.4%). They were able to knock down 24 of those for a rate of 77.4%. The Nets had 22 personal fouls in this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 31 shots. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while getting 10 steals for the contest. The Pelicans collected 33 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 42 in the matchup.

Karlo Matkovic was important for the Pelicans for the matchup. He knocked down 8 of 11 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and had 4 rebounds. Matkovic had 17 points in his 26 minutes on the court and tallied 1 assist in the matchup.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 21-58 for the season. The Pelicans are committing 18.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 75.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.8 times per game (19th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.6 times per contest. New Orleans has scored 8,691 points on the year (110.0 per game) and they pull in 43.5 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Pelicans are shooting 45.4% from the field, which ranks 24th in basketball.

The New Orleans defense allows 36.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (1,152 of 3,152) and opponents are knocking down 78.7% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 28.7 dimes and 45.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 27th and 27th in the league. The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 26th in the league in points per game surrendered with 118.7. They are able to force 14.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.2% from the field (28th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here