Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Prediction and Betting Tips I April 10, 2024

An important East versus West showdown will go down in Miami on Wednesday, as the Heat host the Dallas Mavericks. Both teams are out to get a victory to pad their playoff bids as the regular season winds down.

Dallas (49-30) is out to chalk up their fifth straight victory to fortify their hold of the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference and the automatic playoff berth that goes with it.

The Heat (44-35), meanwhile, are trying to make a last-ditch effort to nab a guaranteed playoff berth by finishing in the top-six in the East. They are eighth, one and a half games behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth, meaning a win over the Mavericks is a must.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Preview, prediction and betting tips

The Heat host the Dallas Mavericks at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

The contest will be broadcast over ESPN and ESPN 2 as well as on local TV via Bally Sports Sun and WFAA/Unimas 49. For radio, it is available over SiriusXM, WQAM 560 / S: WRTO Mix 98.3 FM, 97.1 FM / S: 99.1 FM.

Moneyline: Mavericks (-230) vs Heat (+190)

Spread: Mavericks (-6.5) vs Heat (+6.5)

Total (O/U): Mavericks (o215 -108) vs Heat (u215 -111)

Editor's Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Game preview

The Dallas Mavericks are almost a shoo-in for landing the fifth spot in the playoff race in the West, holding a full two-game lead over the sixth-placed New Orleans Pelicans (47-32).

However, they could also end up in fourth place, being just two games behind the LA Clippers (51-28) with three games to play in the regular season. Victories over the Heat followed by the Detroit Pistons and OKC Thunder could throw them in the mix for No. 4 and homecourt advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.

Miami, for its part, is hoping to secure a top-six finish in their remaining three games, being just a game and a half behind the Indiana Pacers (46-34) for the sixth spot.

If not for an outright playoff berth, the Heat could also make a go at finishing seventh and earn homecourt advantage in the play-in phase.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Starting lineups, subs and rotation

PG - Luka Doncic, SG - Kyrie Irving, SF - Derrick Jones Jr., PF - P.J. Washington and C - Daniel Gafford are expected to start for the Dallas Mavericks.

Primary off the bench are guards Dante Exum and Tim Hadaway Jr. and power forward Maxi Kleber. Rookie center Dereck Lively II (knee) is expected to miss his sixth straight game, opening more opportunities to play for Dwight Powell. Jaden Hardy is also to get added time with Josh Green (ankle) out.

Meanwhile, for the Heat, Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro are listed as gametime decisions against the Mavericks, but there's no official word on it yet. So they should start in the point guard and shooting guard spots, respectively. They join SF - Jimmy Butler, PF - Nikola Jovic and C - Bam Adebayo.

If Rozier and Herro are held off for the game, Deion Wright and Caleb Martin could take their spots, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith key personnel off the bench.

Editor's Note: These are predicted starting lineups, which could change depending on the availability of players uncertain to play.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Betting tips

Dallas superstar Luka Doncic has an over/under 30.5 points prop, which he could go over, considering that in his last five games, he has been averaging 35.6 points per game and aware of the significance of this game in the team's playoff push.

Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, has an O/U points prop of 21.5. It's along his season average of 21.1 points and could go over, especially if Herro is a no-go for the game.

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Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat: Prediction

With both teams out to get victory, they are expected to come out all guns blazing. The Mavericks though should take the game, though, as they have been rolling of late and with more to draw from personnel-wise.