The Miami Heat continue their march to the playoffs as they travel to Detroit to face the Pistons on Sunday. The Heat are currently 7th in the conference and looking to break into the top 6 while the Pistons have the worst record in the NBA at 16-55. Detroit beat the Heat 116-96, in Miami, in their only other meeting this season. Tipoff is at 6:00 p.m. EDT at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Heat getting healthy at right time
The Miami Heat would like nothing more than to secure a top 6 seed in the Eastern Conference as that would let them avoid the play-in tournament and secure a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. But they have their work cut out for them. The good news for the Heat is that they are now as healthy as they have been all season, and are playing good basketball. The bad news is trying to figure out rotations that work the best.
brb ✈️ pic.twitter.com/vZAy6L4AsY
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 17, 2023
"I have a couple days to figure it out before Saturday but this is a good luxury to have when you have everybody available," Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said, reported Sports Illustrated. "We have this depth. We have a lot of different weapons and the versatility but there's also the human side to it that you can't play everybody and I fully understand that." I shouldn't say they are completely healthy, because Kyle Lowry is listed as questionable and Cody Zeller is listed as out. But their main weapons, like Jimmy Butler, who has boosted his average to 22.6 points per game, are starting to click.
Pistons have a good week, sort of
The Detroit Pistons had a good week by their low standards. They actually won a game, beating the Pacers on Monday night to end a long, double digit losing streak. But they soon went back to their losing ways, with two more losses to Washington and Denver later in the week and they are now 12-52 on the season, owners of the worst record in the NBA.
Did it for the city. Happy 3️⃣1️⃣3️⃣ Day 😏@Paceline_fit | #Ad pic.twitter.com/FXL81iNHqQ
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 14, 2023
On Thursday they got torched by one of the NBA's best teams, the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons fell by the score of 119-100. The Pistons got 20 points from Rodney Mcgruder while Jalen Duren had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jaden Ivey and James Wiseman each had 14 points for the Pistons. Ivey had 6 assists while Wiseman grabbed 9 rebounds. The Pistons are 28th in team scoring and 29th in team defense.
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When the Pistons won a game last week, they caught a team, the Pacers, playing the second night of a back to back, in their own building. Meanwhile, the Pistons were not only home, but had been playing on more than a day's rest. The same situation applies here against the Heat. Miami played Saturday night in Chicago, where it lost, and now it turns around and travel to Detroit to face the Pistons. I have no doubt that the Heat find a way to win this game, but they will be challenged, given the circumstances, and will fail to cover. Take the Pistons getting the points.
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Full-Game Total Pick
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These are two of the worst offensive teams in the NBA. Miami is dead last in the NBA in points scored per game while the Pistons rank 28th. They both rank among the lowest in offensive efficiency. Miami wins with its defense, and that's how it will eke out this win. They don't have a difficult task in shutting down a woeful Pistons offense. But just because this game will be such a low scoring slog, the Pistons will cover. But as far as the total goes. look for a score in the low 100s or high 90s. The under is 5-1 in the Heat's last 6 games versus a team with a winning percentage below .400. Take the under here.
