On Wednesday, April 23rd, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to storm out to a 2-0 series lead in their opening-round matchup with the Miami Heat in the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs. Game 1 ended with Cleveland earning a 21-point win. Will Game 2 be similarly lopsided?
Keep reading for Heat vs. Cavaliers odds and predictions, and make sure you come back to VSiN throughout the course of the NBA Playoffs. We’ll have previews of every single series and daily best bets/player props. We’ll also have betting trends and insights from our analytics guru Steve Makinen. Of course, we’ll also be talking about all of this on our live programming too! It’s a great time to be a VSiN subscriber, so make sure you check out our $59 Summer Special. That’ll give you full access to everything we have to offer until August 1st!
How To Watch Heat vs. Cavaliers
Where: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio
When: 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, April 23rd
Channel: NBA TV
Heat vs. Cavaliers Odds
(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of Wednesday, April 23rd at 1:30 pm ET)
Moneyline: Cavaliers -625, Heat +455
Spread: Cavaliers -12 (-110), Heat +12 (-110)
Total: Over 212 (-110), Under 212 (-110)
Heat vs. Cavaliers Prediction
I’m not sure I see the Heat going into Cleveland and stealing a win tonight, but I like their chances of making this a game. Since the start of March, Miami is allowing only 111.7 points per 100 possessions, so I trust the team to bounce back after allowing Cleveland to have an offensive rating of 137.5 in Game 1. Obviously, this Cavaliers team has been tremendous all year long, but the Heat have the ability to disrupt them. And they’ll be ready to go in Game 2. That’s part of having Erik Spoelstra on the sidelines in a playoff series. I know Kenny Atkinson is the favorite to win Coach of the Year this year, but he’s not as good as Spoelstra when it comes to making game-by-game adjustments — or even in-game adjustments. So, I think it’s fair to expect Miami to be better defensively in Game 2.
I also can’t imagine the Heat being as bad offensively in Game 2. For starters, Tyler Herro is capable of playing much better than he did in Game 1, when he had just 21 points on 7 for 18 shooting. After all, Herro torched this Cavaliers team to the tune of 34 points and seven assists on December 8th. Playing Cleveland is intimidating because of how good the team is offensively, but the team’s defensive backcourt leaves a lot to be desired. So, Herro should be able to get himself going soon. Once he does, this will be a whole different series.
One thing that I definitely think will change tonight is the Cavaliers’ ability to get away with playing Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill a combined 50 minutes. I have nothing against of either of those players, but the Heat should be able to make Cleveland pay for having them on the floor in a playoff series. They’re weak individual defenders.
Considering everything above, I think it makes a lot of sense to play Miami +12.5 in this game. And it’s hard not to like the fact that the Heat are 24-10 straight-up and 23-10-1 against the spread in the second game of a playoff series under Spoelstra.
I’m also going with Davion Mitchell to have at least seven assists. Mitchell had nine dimes in 34 minutes in Game 1, marking the 10th time in the last 14 games in which he has had at least seven assists. Mitchell also had 20 potential assists for 10 adjusted assists in Game 1, and he averaged 9.0 adjusted assists per game in two Play-In Tournament games. He’s just in a nice groove as a playmaker, and I don’t see him slowing down against a very beatable defense.
Bet: Heat +12.5 (-115) & Mitchell Over 6.5 Assists (+100)
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