The Pelicans and Heat will kick off the NBA slate of Christmas Day games in South Beach and viewers will want to keep a close eye on the total in this one which opened at 200. The Heat’s home OVER/UNDER record combined with the Pelicans away OVER/UNDER record is 10-24. New Orleans has seen four of their last six games go UNDER, while the Heat have gone UNDER in 18 of their last 25 games.
- The Heat are 3-12 SU and 2-12-1 ATS in their last 15 games vs the Southwest division.
- The Pelicans are 1-5 SU in their last six games on the road against the Heat.
- In eight Christmas Day games, Dwayne Wade has averaged 26.4 points, 6.4 assist and 6 rebounds .
In a season that was supposed to be a coming out party for the Pelicans, they’ve been a fairly big disappointment with only the Lakers beneath them in the Western Conference Standings. Going back to last December, the Pelicans have been underdogs in plenty of games—a situation they’ve responded well to as they’ve gone 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games as underdogs in December.
The Heat are one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams this season, and they might have the schedule makers to thank for that. 18 of the Heat’s 27 games this season have been at home, and they’ve taken full advantage, going 12-6 on their home court.
The Heat will be playing on two day’s rest and Dwayne Wade has been a scoring machine when in this situation this season, averaging 29 points per game with two days off between games.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Miami Heat opened as -6-point favorites at online sportsbook Sportsbook, while the NBA total line was sitting around 200 at Sportsbook for those who prefer OVER/UNDER betting on the total amount of points scored.
Handicapping prediction models run by the computers at Odds Shark pick a 104-98 result in favor of the Heat. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NBA matchups here.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Miami Heat Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
Supporters of the New Orleans Pelicans have seen them go 9-19 and 11-17 ATS so far this NBA season, while the Miami Heat are at 16-11 and 12-14-1 ATS. In Over/Under totals betting, the Heat are 8-19, while the New Orleans Pelicans are 12-16. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Miami vs New Orleans injuries news.
According to the betting Power Rankings at Odds Shark, it's the No. 23-rated Miami Heat and the No. 24-rated Pelicans in this NBA basketball matchup.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively the game matches up Miami's No. 27-ranked offense (96.63 PPG) against a New Orleans Pelicans defense that ranks No. 29 at 107.54 PPG. The Miami Heat have averaged 46.49% from the field per game, more than the New Orleans Pelicans have managed so far this NBA season (44.66% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The battle between the Pelicans and Trail Blazers didn't turn out to be much of a battle at all as Portland was handed a 115-89 defeat on Wednesday at Smoothie King Center.
Miami got 20 points from Chris Bosh but lost anyway 93-92 against the Pistons on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
- New Orleans is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans's last 6 games
- New Orleans is 8-15 ATS in its last 23 games on the road
- New Orleans is 3-15 SU in its last 18 games on the road
- Miami is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games
- Miami is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami's last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 18 of Miami's last 25 games
Next Betting Matchups
New Orleans home to Houston, Saturday, December 26th
Miami at Orlando, Saturday, December 26th
