🏀 Miami vs. Indiana - 1/2/25 👀
A '25 banger awaits in South Beach
Two of the East’s middling teams meet Thursday night in Miami in a familiar matchup in recent years. The hosts will be trying to keep the momentum from a New Year’s Day win against the lowly Pelicans, while the visitors will be looking to shake off a tough defeat on New Year’s Eve to the Bucks, in which they blew a 19 point lead.
In a turbulent start to the season that has included less than stellar results, constant trade rumors involving Jimmy Butler, and a brawl, the Heat sit at 17-14, which is good for 6th in the East. A deep bench and an unpredictable rotation has kept their veterans relatively rested, and they seemed positioned to round into form after whatever transpires at the trade deadline. In their last 10 games, the Heat are top 10 in net efficiency overall, including a workmanlike win last night against New Orleans that saw Miami maintain a double digit lead for most of the game.
Indiana, on the other hand, sits at 16-18, good for 8th in the East. 6-4 in their last 10 against daunting competition gives Rick Carlisle and the Pacers reason for optimism going forward, and the high-pace boys from Indianapolis also find themselves top 10 in net efficiency overall in their last 10 games, a feat that may be flying under the radar for those that have been focused on holiday celebrations.
Miami’s injury report is constantly evolving and changing, and it is something worth monitoring later in the day in case there are any surprises. They should have a full cast of characters, however, as many of the veterans took the night off or played limited minutes against New Orleans.
No big changes for Indiana, who is still without the likes of key wingman Aaron Nesmith, but remains relatively healthy otherwise.
The Owl Says:
Indiana 117 Miami 111
The disparity in strength of schedule between these two over the holiday stretch is staggering, with Indiana playing the Warriors, Thunder, Boston (2x), and Milwaukee, while Miami has beat up on middle to low competition. The last time these two teams met, the Pacers won 119-110, and we think a similar result could be in store tonight as Miami runs out of steam late against a rested Pacers team that will want to push them in transition.
Consensus odds at time of writing:
Miami -1.5 O/U 223.5
Overall record (W-T-L): 1-3-2