The Atlanta Hawks (42-38) head to South Beach Friday to play the first-place Miami Heat (52-28). Tip-off at FTX Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Hawks vs. Heat odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Atlanta bounced back from a 118-108 loss at the Toronto Raptors Tuesday to beat the Washington Wizards 118-103 the next night. The Hawks are 6-1 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in their last seven games.
Miami hammered the Charlotte Hornets 144-115 Tuesday for its fifth consecutive victory (5-0 ATS).
The Heat are 2-1 SU and ATS versus the Hawks this season and the total is 2-1 Over/Under (O/U), but Atlanta beat Miami 110-108 at home in their last meeting Jan. 21.
Hawks at Heat odds, spread and lines
- Money line (ML): Hawks -125 (bet $125 to win $100) | Heat +102 (bet $100 to win $102)
- Against the spread: Hawks -1.5 (-112) | Heat +1.5 (-108)
- Over/Under: 229.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
Hawks at Heat key injuries
Hawks
- PF John Collins (finger) out
Heat
- C Dewayne Dedmon (ankle) questionable
- PF P.J. Tucker (calf) out
- SG Gabe Vincent (toe) questionable
Hawks at Heat odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Heat 117, Hawks 112
Money line
LEAN HEAT (+102) because I prefer to take any points I can get with Miami. However, the Heat are 4-1 SU as home underdogs and play exceptional pick-and-roll, which is imperative when playing the Hawks and All-Star PG Trae Young.
Atlanta is also 26th in defensive rating and Miami tears up bad defenses. The Heat are 23-7 SU versus teams in the bottom-10 of defensive efficiency with a plus-9.1 adjusted net rating (ranked seventh) and a plus-3.6 ATS margin (ranked seventh) according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
The Heat are the right side but I’d prefer to wait to see if Miami’s spread goes north of +2.5. LEAN HEAT (+102).