Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/31/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Where to watch: BSOH, BSSUN

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Cavs -5
FanDuel: Cavs -5
BetMGM: Cavs -5.5
Caesars: Cavs -4

Season record
Heat: 28-23
Cavs: 31-21

The second half of the basketball season is upon us, and what a cluster we've got in the standings right now, right? So many teams are in the playoff hunt, so many teams not expected to make the playoffs are in the process of trying to prove people wrong. You know who doesn't need to be made wrong? Our champion handicappers who have been killing it all year long. Scott Rickenbach is coming off a 5-2-0 week over the last seven days, while Doc's Sports has been efficient at 14-8-0 over the last 30 days. Do you want to get on this winning? Make sure you're following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to celebrate in these moments!

Heat - Cavs preview, prediction and analysis


Recent form
Heat: lost 122-117 at Hornets
Cavs: won 122-99 vs. Clippers

The Miami Heat will be playing Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, January 31 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Miami Heat lost against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, January 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina with a score of 122-117. The Miami Heat currently rank 1st in the Southeast Division.

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Tyler Herro had 24. The Heat led 62-58 after Rozier banked in a 3 from the midcourt logo to close out the first half. Miami went on a 10-1 run to start the third quarter. Herro knocked down two 3-pointers to help the Heat open a 13-point lead.

The Miami Heat have won seven of their last 10 games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, January 31 in Cleveland, Ohio with a score of 122-99. The Cleveland Cavaliers currently rank 2nd in the Central Division.

Cedi Osman tied his career high with 29 points and matched the franchise record by making all seven of his 3-pointers.

All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell had 11 points in his return for Cleveland after missing three games with a strained groin. The Cavaliers never trailed and took their largest lead of the season at 82-42 on Jarrett Allen’s first 3-pointer since Nov. 5, 2021.

“It was a great feeling, everybody was sharing the moment with me,” Osman said. “We played great offensively, and it was a great game for everybody. We’ve got such a good group of guys who support each other at all times.”

Turkey national team member Osman made 11 of 13 shots on Turkish Heritage Night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He joined Kyrie Irving and Mo Williams as the only Cavaliers to go 7 of 7 beyond the arc in a game.

“That’s what Turkish Heritage Night will do for you,” Allen said, laughing. “Every single thing, except for his layups, went in. He did everything he was supposed to all night.”

Darius Garland collected 16 points and 10 assists, and Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland, which has the best home record in the East at 21-5.

The performance was in stark contrast to the Cavaliers’ 120-114 home loss to Golden State nine days earlier, when the Warriors sat Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.

“Tonight was a similar situation, but we took it serious,” Osman said. “We knew Golden State was missing a lot of pieces and learned a tough lesson from it.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won five of their last 10 games.

Prediction

The Heat have covered in 12 of the last 17 meetings, but this is a much different Cavs team than in years' past. The availability, or lack thereof, of Butler does concern me. Cavs 110, Heat 105

Betting trends


Heat are 59-51 ATS on the road the last 3 seasons.

Heat are 5-7 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite this season.

Cavs are 3-10 ATS on Tuesday the last 3 seasons.

Cavs are 11-4 ATS off a win by 20 or more the last 3 seasons.

Projected starting lineup


Heat:
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Tyler Herro
SF: Caleb Martin
PF: Jimmy Butler
C: Bam Adebayo

Cavs:
PG: Darius Garland
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Isaac Okoro
PF: Evan Mobley
C: Jarrett Allen

Injury report

Heat: Jimmy Butler (quad, questionable), Gabe Vincent (ankle, questionable)

Cavs: None

Statistical leaders

Heat:
Points: Jimmy Butler -- 21.9
Rebounds: Bam Adebayo -- 10.0
Assists: Kyle Lowry -- 5.4

Cavs:
Points: Donovan Mitchell -- 27.9
Rebounds: Jarrett Allen -- 9.6
Assists: Darius Garland -- 8.2

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Miami Heat - Cleveland Cavaliers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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