Nets vs. Heat Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Thursday, March 5

Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat are making a push for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they’re coming off a 26-point win over the tanking Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

These teams have a little baseball series going this week, as they’ll play in Miami again on Thursday. The Heat are heavily favored to win this matchup after covering on Tuesday, even though Norman Powell (groin) remains out.

Brooklyn has lost nine games in a row and is in play for the worst record in the NBA this season. It makes sense that the Nets are tanking since they control their own pick this season, and they’ve posted the No. 29 net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games (-15.2).

Miami, on the other hand, has a net rating of +10.0 during that 10-game stretch and has won six of those games outright. Can Erik Spoelstra’s group keep its winning streak going on Thursday?

Here’s a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for this rematch on March 5.

Nets vs. Heat Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Nets +13.5 (-115)
Heat -13.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Nets: +525
Heat: -750

Total

227.5 (Over -105/Under -115)

Nets vs. Heat How to Watch

Date: Thursday, March 5
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Kaseya Center
How to Watch (TV): YES Network, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
Nets record: 15-46
Heat record: 33-29

Nets vs. Heat Injury Reports

Nets Injury Report

Egor Demin – out
Tyson Etienne – out
Chaney Johnson – out
EJ Liddell – out
Drake Powell – out

Heat Injury Report

Norman Powell – out
Terry Rozier – out
Trevor Keels – out
Simone Fontecchio – out
Nikola Jovic – out
Keshad Johnson – out
Vladislav Goldin – out
Davion Mitchell – available
Pelle Larsson – available
Andrew Wiggins – available
Dru Smith – available

Nets vs. Heat Best NBA Prop Bet

Nets Best NBA Prop Bet

Nolan Traore OVER 11.5 Points (-109)

Nets rookie guard Nolan Traore has shown some flashes that he can be a nightly rotation piece over the last few weeks, and he scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting against Miami on Tuesday.

This season, Traore is averaging 8.4 points per game, but he’s scored 12 or more points in eight games since Feb. 1. During that 14-game stretch, Traore is averaging 12.6 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field on over 11 shots per game.

He should see a similar workload against a Miami team that leads the league in pace this season. Traore has started every game for the Nets since Jan. 29, giving him a solid floor when it comes to his minutes and role each night.

Nets vs. Heat Prediction and Pick

This is a pretty simple pick on Thursday night, as Miami blew the Nets out by 26 points on Tuesday night in Miami.

The Heat have the fourth-best net rating in the league over their last 10 games, and they remain a top-10 defense this season. Even with Powell out, Miami still has a lot of offensive firepower with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. leading the way.

The Nets are not looking to win right now – they’ve dropped nine in a row – and they rank in the bottom five in the league in both offensive and defensive rating this season.

Bettors should feel comfortable laying the points with Miami in this matchup.

Pick: Heat -13.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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