Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Prediction, Starting Lineups and Betting Tips | February 2, 2024

The Miami Heat will battle the Washington Wizards for the second time this season on Friday. Miami won the first meeting 121-114 behind Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler’s performances. The newly acquired Terry Rozier will help them try to keep an unbeaten slate against the Wizards in the rematch.

Washington's two-game winning run was snapped by the LA Clippers on Wednesday. The Wizards had a good game from Kyle Kuzma who dropped 27 points in the matchup but couldn’t overcome LA’s superior offense. Kuzma could use more support from his teammates to try and return to the win column.

The Heat busted a seven-game losing skid with an impressive 115-106 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. It was Miami’s first victory of the season with “Scary Terry” in the lineup. Erik Spoeltra’s team, however, can’t afford to overlook the Wizards if they want to get back-to-back wins.

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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards preview, prediction, odds and betting tips

The Wizards will host the Heat at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC at 7:00 p.m. ET. MNMT and Bally Sports Sun are two of the local networks that will cover the game. Streaming is also available by subscribing to the NBA League Pass.

Moneyline: Heat (-360) vs. Wizards (+280)

Spread: Heat (-8.0) vs. Wizards (+8.0)

Total (O/U): Heat (o229.5 -110) vs. Wizards (u229.5 -110)

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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Game preview

Erik Spoelstra was confident that even without practice, the Heat would eventually come out of their slump. The coach told reporters his team just had to “burn through” the struggles, particularly with Terry Rozier still adjusting to the system.

The Heat may have pulled it all together after dismissing the Sacramento Kings in their last game. If they can carry that performance in the rematch with the Wizards, they will likely go up 2-0 in the season series with Washington.

The Wizards came crashing back to earth against the LA Clippers following back-to-back wins versus the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. Against an elite team like LA, Washington wilted again. The Wizards have to show more fight against playoff contenders or risk a blowout loss at home to the Heat.

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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Starting lineups

Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, and Haywood Highsmith are expected to start for the Miami Heat.

Jordan Poole has been ruled questionable by the Washington Wizards. If he’s cleared to play, he gets the starting shooting guard spot. Otherwise, rookie Bilal Coulibaly resumes playing that role.

Kyle Kuzma, Denis Avdija, Daniel Gafford, and Tyus Jones are likely lining up for tip-off.

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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Betting tips

The over/under points prop for Kyle Kuzma is 24.5, which is higher than his season average of 22.0 PPG. “Kuz” has been rolling over the last four games. He is averaging 25.3 points during that stretch. Miami’s defense, however, will be tough to score against. He could struggle to get over 24 points on Friday.

Jimmy Butler has 22.5 over/under points prop, which is a little over his 21.4 PPG season average. Like Kuzma, “Jimmy Buckets” has been superb in his last four games, averaging 25.5 points during that span. He dropped 31 on the Sacramento Kings and will likely have another big scoring night against Washington’s inept defense.

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Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards: Prediction

The Miami Heat looked like they’d regained their mojo after the win against the Kings. They are a deeper and more well-balanced team than the Washington Wizards. It might even be a blowout victory for the Heat if Jordan Poole is unable to suit up for the Wizards.

Washington’s defense has been lethargic the whole season. Even if Poole is available, beating the Heat will be tough. Miami could finish Friday with a 2-0 record versus Washington and do win against the +8.0 spread.