The Sacramento Kings (3-3) will take on the Miami Heat (3-2) tonight in the NBA. Tipoff from the Kaseya Center in Miami is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
The oddsmakers see the Miami Heat as -2 point home favorites over the Sacramento Kings, while the total is set at over/under 225 points.
Read below for my Kings vs. Heat predictions and my NBA picks for Monday, November 4.
Kings vs. Heat Odds
| Kings Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2 -110 | 225 -110o / -110u | +110 |
| Heat Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2 -110 | 225 -110o / -110u | -130 |
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are on the fourth and final leg of their early season road trip, which included an overtime contest in their last outing vs the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
The trip from Toronto to Miami is one of the longer trips between two Eastern Conference teams. While I am definitely weighing the rest and travel situation into my handicap here, I think the books are too based on the opening lines and subsequent movement.
We saw the Heat open as -3 point favorites, and it has trickled down to -2.5 or -2. The is some early action coming in on the Sacramento Kings, and it is a very fair price considering the situational spot for Sacramento.
Miami Heat
The Heat had people selling on them in preseason priors, and yet they are 3-2 and fourth place in the Eastern Conference through five games.
The Heat look like the "standard Heat," with a middling offense, pressure defense, and a ton of close games. The quirk with the early Heat schedule is that they have alternated home and away nearly every game this season, so it's been a lot of travel despite not having a consistent road trip like the Kings.
The Heat beat the Wizards handily on Saturday evening, winning by 20 in Mexico City, so they should be on a shorter rest trip, coming off a less intense game, and now with home-court advantage.
Kings vs. Heat
Betting Pick & Prediction
My favorite spot here is to play Miami against the spread (-2, -110).
The preseason priors are still impacting their early game prices, but the team is better and more consistent than the markets suggest. The Heat, in years past, have gotten off to middling starts and then dominated later in the season — I think the urgency factor leans toward the opposite scenario this season.
The Miami Heat knows the opportunity exists within the Eastern Conference, with the Bucks, Sixers, Knicks, Pacers, and Magic all struggling early.
Look for Miami to have their foot on the gas defensively and the ball on a string on offense. The Kings are worth fading, being on the last leg of a road trip, a large travel spot, and a previous game that went into overtime.
Pick: Miami Heat -2 (-110) via Caesars
