Pelicans vs. Heat Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Sunday, Jan. 4

The Heat are favored at home on Sunday.

The Miami Heat and center Bam Adebayo are favored on Sunday. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat are looking to get back into the top six in the Eastern Conference standings, and they find themselves as massive favorites on Sunday evening against the New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans has won just two road games all season long, and it could be down multiple key players in this game as Herb Jones has been ruled out and Trey Murphy III and Derik Queen are listed as questionable. 

Miami could get Tyler Herro (questionable) back in action on Sunday after he’s missed several games with a toe injury.

The Heat have fallen to the No. 8 seed in the East, but they are one of the better home teams in the NBA, going 12-6 in 18 games.

Let’s dive into the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Sunday’s contest. 

Pelicans vs. Heat Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Pelicans +9.5 (-115)
• Heat -9.5 (-105)

Moneyline

• Pelicans: +310
• Heat: -395

Total

• 245.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Pelicans vs. Heat How to Watch

• Date: Sunday, Jan. 4
• Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Kaseya Center
• How to Watch (TV): FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
• Pelicans record: 8-28
• Heat record: 19-16

Pelicans vs. Heat Injury Reports

Pelicans Injury Report

• Saddiq Bey – out
• Dejounte Murray – out
• Hunter Dickinson – out
• Trey Murphy III – questionable
• Derik Queen – questionable
• Herb Jones – out

Heat Injury Report

• Bam Adebayo – probable
• Vladislav Goldin – out
• Tyler Herro – questionable
• Jaime Jaquez Jr. – doubtful
• Keshad Johnson – out
• Nikola Jovic – questionable
• Pelle Larsson – probable
• Norman Powell – available
• Jahmir Young – out
• Terry Rozier – out
• Dru Smith – available

Pelicans vs. Heat Best NBA Prop Bet

Pelicans Best NBA Prop Bet

• Trey Murphy OVER 2.5 3-Pointers Made (-123)

In today’s best NBA prop bets column for SI Betting, I shared why Murphy is a solid target in this 3-point market: 

New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III is shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range on over seven attempts per game this season, and he could see a few more touches against the Miami Heat with Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey out of the lineup.

Miami ranks just 19th in the NBA in opponent 3-pointers made per game, and it’s No. 1 in the league in pace. The Heat are going to make this an up-and-down game, which should give the Pelicans and Murphy a few more possessions on offense.

Murphy is averaging less than three made 3-pointers per game, but he’s cleared this prop in each of his last three games and 15 of his 33 appearances this season overall. 

Pelicans vs. Heat Prediction and Pick

I’m buying Miami at home in this matchup, as it’s posted one of the best records in the league at Kaseya Center and the Pelicans have really struggled on the road. 

New Orleans is 2-12 straight up, 7-7 against the spread and has an average scoring margin of -12.2 in 14 road games this season.

If Murphy or Queen miss this matchup, New Orleans doesn’t have enough offense to keep up with a potentially fully healthy Miami rotation. 

The Heat are 13th in the league in offensive rating, and they should be able to score at will against a New Orleans team that is 27th in the league in defensive rating. New Orleans has lost six games in a row, falling to last in the Western Conference.  

Pick: Heat -9.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

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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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