Miami Heat at home never a bad NBA odds pick

The Miami Heat have taken some lumps of late, but those have been on the road. At home as a 5½-point favorite against road-weary Portland, Miami’s the pick.

The Miami Heat have hit a couple of speed bumps recently, in the form of lopsided losses to Washington and Orlando, teams that aren’t exactly the creme de la creme of the Eastern Conference. But on Sunday, back at American Airlines Arena the NBA odds say the Heat are the best bet of the five-team schedule.

At home, Miami is almost unstoppable — 16-1 straight up so far this season and 12-5 against the spread on their home court. They are favored by 5½ points Sunday against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers, based on information courtesy of The Action Network.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Portland can struggle on the road, where they are 7-12 straight up and 8-11 ATS. For the Trail Blazers, this is the third of five consecutive road games. They’ve started the tip 1-1, with a 24-point loss at New York followed by a 19-point win at Washington. The Heat are a significant step up in weight class from either of those clubs.

Their win over the Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak for the Trail Blazers. Miami has won five in a row at home since their lone loss in their own building, a 113-110 defeat at the hands of the Lakers on Dec. 13.

Looking against the number, Portland and Miami are each 1-5 ATS in their last six games, so this essentially comes down to the home team having the edge. It’s the first meeting of the season between the two teams and will also mark the return of Hassan Whiteside to South Beach for the first time since he was traded to Portland over the summer.

He’s been playing pretty well of late, but he’s also a player with a tendency to try to do too much. Against Bam Adebayo, that could be less than ideal for the Blazers.

Portland Trail Blazers at Miami Heat

TV: NBC Sports Northwest/Blazers Pass (Trail Blazers), Fox Sports Sun (Heat)
Tickets: AmericanAirlines Arena, 6 p.m. local (6 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Portland 15-21 (14-21-1 ATS, 8-11 road ATS), Miami 25-10 (20-14-1 ATS, 12-5 home ATS)

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. on Saturday)
Portland: OUT–Zach Collins (left shoulder dislocation), Rodney Hood (left Achilles tendon rupture), Skal Labissiere (left knee inflammation), Jusuf Nurkic (left leg fracture).
Miami: OUT–Daryl Macon (two-way, G League), KZ Okpala (G League); QUESTIONABLE–Justise Winslow (lower back, bone bruise).

In other action in the NBA on Sunday, we have:

New York Knicks at LA Clippers

TV: MSG (Knicks), Fox Sports Prime Ticket (Clippers)
Tickets: Staples Center, 12:30 p.m. local (3:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: New York 10-25 (18-17 ATS, 10-8 road ATS), LA 25-12 (20-16 ATS, 11-7 home ATS)

Availability report
New York: OUT–Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Elfrid Payton (personal), Dennis Smith Jr. (left oblique strain).
LA: Not required to submit report until Sunday afternoon. In Saturday’s 140-114 loss to the Grizzlies, LA was without Patrick Beverley (sprained right wrist), Paul George (left hamstring tightness), Mfiondu Kabengele (G League) and Terance Mann (G League).

Notable: On Sunday, the LA Clippers will play a 12:30 p.m. local time matinee for the second straight day after getting absolutely hammered on Saturday by Memphis, while the New York Knicks had a travel day since losing at Phoenix on Friday. The Clippers are just 5-5 ATS in their last 10 and have covered only twice in their last five games at home.

New York is 6-4 ATS over its last 10 games, with a 4-2 ATS mark on the road in its last six contests. The teams haven’t met this season and, not surprisingly, LA has won and covered each of the last three meetings with the Knicks. New York is, however, 4-1 in its last five games against Western Conference foes, with the one loss coming Friday at Phoenix.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Cleveland Cavaliers

TV: Fox Sports North+ (Timberwolves), Fox Sports Ohio (Cavaliers)
Tickets: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, 7:30 p.m. local (7:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Minnesota 13-21 (14-18-2 ATS, 10-7-1 road ATS), Cleveland 10-25 (14-19-2 ATS, 7-10-1 home ATS)

Availability report
Minnesota: OUT–Jake Layman (left toe sprain), Jordan McLaughlin (two-way, G League), Jaylen Nowell (G League); QUESTIONABLE–Treveon Graham (flu-like symptoms), Jeff Teague (right knee sprain), Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee sprain), Noah Vonleh (left gluteal contusion), Andrew Wiggins (flu-like symptoms).
Cleveland: Not required to file report until 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. In Saturday’s 121-106 loss to the Thunder, Cleveland did not have Larry Nance Jr. (left knee soreness), Kevin Porter Jr. (personal) or Dylan Windler (stress reaction, left lower leg).

Notable: This is one of those games in which the Cleveland Cavaliers could either dig in and make a stand or fold up their tents early — and we won’t know which until the opening tip. The Minnesota Timberwolves come in with a 4-1 ATS record over their last five games and three straight up wins in their last five after losing 11 in a row.

The Cavs are in the wake of reports star Kevin Love screamed at general manager Koby Altman after Saturday’s shootaround before Cleveland lost at home to the Thunder, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic (subscription required). The Cavaliers are 2-3 ATS in their last five at home, but did win at Minnesota 94-88 as 6½-point dogs on Dec. 28.

Memphis Grizzlies at Phoenix Suns

TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Memphis (Grizzlies), Fox Sports Arizona (Suns)
Tickets: Talking Stick Resort Arena, 6 p.m. local (8 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Memphis 14-22 (17-18-1 ATS, 8-8-1 road ATS), Phoenix 14-21 (20-14-1 ATS, 10-8-1 home ATS)

Availability report
Memphis: Not required to submit report until 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. In Saturday’s 140-114 over the Clippers, Memphis was without Andre Iguodala (not with team), Josh Jackson (G League), John Konchar (two-way, G League) and Yuta Watanabe (two-way, G League).
Phoenix: OUT–Jared Harper (two-way, G League), Frank Kaminsky (stress fracture, right patella), Jalen Lecque (G League).

Notable: The Memphis Grizzlies come in with some momentum after blowing out the Clippers in LA Saturday, but this is a SEGABABA against a team that last played at home on Friday and had a day to rest. The Grizzlies have been feisty lately; 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 and 3-2-1 in their last six on the road.

But the Phoenix Suns have gotten their act back together lately, as well, with a 5-1 ATS mark over their last six games and have covered four in a row. The teams have split two meetings so far this season, with the Suns winning and covering a three-point spread at home on Nov. 2 and Memphis  winning straight up at home as seven-point underdogs on Dec. 11.

Detroit Pistons at Los Angeles Lakers

TV: Fox Sports Detroit (Pistons), Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers)
Tickets: Staples Center, 7 p.m. local (10 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Detroit 13-23 (13-22-1 ATS, 5-12-1 road ATS), Los Angeles 28-7 (18-15-1 ATS, 9-7-1 home ATS)

Availability report
Detroit: Not required to submit report until 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. In Saturday’s 111-104 win over the Warriors, Detroit did not have Jordan Bone (two-way, G League), Blake Griffin (left knee soreness), Reggie Jackson (stress reaction, left lumbar spine), Luke Kennard (bilateral patella tendinitis), Markieff Morris (left foot sprain) or Khyri Thomas (right foot surgery).
Los Angeles: OUT–Kostas Antetokounmpo (two-way, G League), Devontae Cacok (two-way, G League), DeMarcus Cousins (right knee rehabilitation), Talen Horton-Tucker (G League); QUESTIONABLE–Alex Caruso (right calf tightness); PROBABLE–Anthony Davis (right shoulder soreness).

Notable: This is just a gigantic spread for a team that is only 2-7-1 ATS in its last 10 games and 1-3-1 ATS in its last five at home. That’s what the Los Angeles Lakers are bringing to the party. The Detroit Pistons, meanwhile, are just 2-8 ATS over their last 10 games and are on a road-road SEGABABA after winning at Golden State Saturday night.

This is also the second game in four nights at Staples Center for Detroit, which lost and failed to cover 12½ points as the underdog on Thursday against the Clippers. The teams haven’t met this season and with as many changes at the Lakers have made, looking at their 1-2 record both straight up and ATS over the last three meetings isn’t all that relevant now.