Heat vs. Mavericks Prediction and Odds: Trust Miami as Road Favorite

The Dallas Mavericks take on the Miami Heat tonight at home in a game featuring two of the best teams so far this season.

The Heat are off to a hot start at 5-1 with their only loss coming to the Indiana Pacers in overtime. The Heat were forced to play that game sans Kyle Lowry. In their last game out , the team was without Bam Adebayo, so, early injuries could be a concern for this team. The Heat managed to win the second leg of their back-to-back without him and dominated the Memphis Grizzlies 129-103.  

Meanwhile, the Mavericks are 4-2 after a close win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon, 105-99. It was another solid win, but one against a less-than-solid team in the Kings. 

The Heat opened as road dogs against the Mavs, but the line move quickly to where it is now, with the Heat -2.0 road favorites. 

Here are the odds for this battle of the Southeast and Southwest courtesy of WynnBET: 

Heat vs. Mavericks Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

• Heat: -2.0 (-110)
• Mavericks: +2.0 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Heat: -130
• Mavericks: +110

Total: 

• 211.0 (Over -110/Under -110)

Heat vs. Mavericks How to Watch

• Miami Heat (5-1, 5-1 ATS) vs. Dallas Mavericks (4-2, 2-4 ATS)
• Date: Nov. 2, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• TV: TNT
• Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Heat vs. Mavericks Prediction and Pick

I’ll start off by saying that while the Mavericks have a great record early on, they have done it against subpar opponents. Glancing over the records for the NBA right now, the Mavs have only one win against a team that has a winning record. That win was against the 5-3 Toronto Raptors, 103-95.

While that is more interesting than it is damming, one major problem the Mavs will have tonight is the injury to Maxi Kleber. Kleber, who is not exactly a household name, does a lot for this team in ways that don’t necessarily show up on the stats sheet. This is mostly the case with his defense. I realize that his role has not been as great this season, but, with Kristaps Porzingis also out, this leaves the Mavs vulnerable. 

The Heat are playing some of the best basketball so far in this young season and lead the league in points allowed per game and rebounds. Two areas that the Mavs are lacking with their big-man injuries. This is especially true in the rebound game as the Mavs rank 28th in the NBA in rebounding rate. 

I would have loved to catch this line when the Heat were underdogs but that doesn’t change my mind about them here. They are one of the best teams in the league right now and I worry the Mavs are playing a little over their heads now and will come back to earth soon. 

Pick: Miami Heat -2 (-110)