NBA Predictions: Predicting Miami Heat vs Detroit Pistons

The Miami Heat (21-21) are set to face the Detroit Pistons (18-24) on Friday, January 18th. The Heat are 10-9 on the road, while the Pistons are equally inconsistent - 11-10 at home.

Both sides are coming off a losing streak of one game for this encounter. The Heat won their last away game during an overtime thriller, ultimately pulling ahead 120-115. In that game, players on both teams had a solid outing - Josh Richardson and Andre Drummond coming up big for their respective sides. In that game, players on both teams had a solid outing, the Heat led by Josh Richardson, and the Pistons led by Andre Drummond.

For the Heat, Richardson scored 27 points, eight assists and four rebounds - a good 10 points over his usual average. Goran Dragic recorded 21/7/6 too. They managed to hold off a monster 25 point, 24 rebound performance from Drummond, as the 25-year-old shot 58% from the floor. Blake Griffin, the Pistons' new star - delivered 24 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists as well.

Griffin has excelled this season for an improving Pistons side

Friday's hosts will be coming off a rather tough schedule, with this game being their second road game of 12 in their next 16-game stretch. Following a tough loss in Milwaukee, where the Heat fell short during an astounding 124-86 game, they will most definitely face a tough time in Detroit. Dragic (knee) is sidelined, while Duncan Robinson and Yante Malen are both on G-League assignments.

Players to watch out for

Richardson has been playing fantastically well in recent games, while Bam Adebayo is certainly one to watch. Adebayo and Hassan Whiteside will likely have very solid defensive outings as usual, though they're unlikely to fare well offensively against a center of Drummond's quality.

As for the Pistons, Drummond and Griffin are expected to have an extremely good game on both offensive and defensive sides of the court, with a double-double from the pair now the norm.

I predict the Pistons will take the win in a close-fought game. Despite their lack of depth, solid performances from Andre and Blake, alongside good displays by Reggie Jackson and Glenn Robinson III should help them pull beyond an inconsistent Heat side.