Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 20/01/2023, 07:30  by Joseph King | Modified on 20/01/2023 at 07:30 in NBA Prediction

The Dallas Mavericks host the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Center for this West vs Eastern Conference showdown. The Mavericks come into this matchup on a poor run of form which has seen them drop three straight games as well as six of their last eight. Dallas is coming off a 130-122 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks in their last outing and has now allowed an average of 135.3 points per game over their last three games. The Mavs’ recent downtick in form has seen them drop to fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 24-22. Dallas has been a much tougher proposition when playing on their home court this season as they have won 16 of their 23 games compared to just eight wins from 23 as the visiting side. 

Looking to pile more misery on the Mavericks is the visiting Miami Heat who have been slowly building up consistency in the recent weeks. Miami struggled out of the gate this season following their fantastic regular season in the previous campaign which saw them top the East standings. The Heat have now won four of their last five games following their dominant 124-98 away win over the fourth seeded Pelicans on Wednesday. The purple patch has Miami up to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with 25 wins and 21 losses.

Both sides are dealing with some injury concerns at the moment. Dallas is missing stretch-big Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber but should be able to call upon the services of Tim Hardaway Jr. who is listed as probable for this game. As for the visiting Heat, they come into this match in much better shape health wise with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry all back in the lineup. Miami will be without Duncan Robinson, Omer Yurtseven and young prospect Nikola Jovic.