Miami Heat vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 1/9/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Utah Jazz

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025

Location: Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: KJZZ

The Miami Heat (18-17) are en route to Delta Center on Thursday where they will play the Utah Jazz (9-26).

The Heat took the court against the Warriors and went home with a win by a final score of 114-98 in their last game. Miami ended the contest having earned a 47.3% FG percentage (43 of 91) and knocked down 16 of their 40 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Heat made 12 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they earned 48 with 9 of them being offensive. They also dished out 32 assists for the game as well as creating 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In relation to defending, Miami let their opponent shoot 40.8% from the floor on 40 of 98 shooting. Golden State earned 28 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. In addition, Golden State collected 52 rebounds (11 offensive, 41 defensive) and added 3 blocked shots. Golden State finished the game at 80.0% from the charity stripe by making 4 of their 5 tries. They converted 14 out of their 50 tries from 3-point range. When it comes to fouls, the Heat ended up with 9 while the Warriors had 15 fouls.

Nikola Jovic is a player who was a major contributor in this matchup. He notched 20 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He played for 34 mins and also grabbed 6 rebounds. Jovic walked away from this one shooting 47.1% from the field and earned 4 assists.

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Miami will play this game with a win-loss mark of 18-17 for the season. They lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.3 fouls per game. As a team, Miami is pulling in 43.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 911 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 18th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Heat are shooting 37.0% on shots from downtown (492 of 1,331) and 78.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 111.3 pts per game (20th in the NBA) while going 45.6% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Heat have forced 14.9 turnovers per game while drawing 18.8 fouls. They give up 35.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 7th in basketball in points per game allowed (110.1). The Heat defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 46.1% (1,434 of 3,109) and they surrender 45.8 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 14th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 940 relinquished on the year.

The last time they took the court, the Jazz took a loss by a final score of 124-121 when they faced the Hawks. In relation to rebounding, Utah allowed Atlanta to collect 44 in total (12 offensive). They shot 40.9% from downtown by connecting on 18 of 44 and finished the contest at 12 of 15 from the charity stripe (80.0%). The Jazz permitted the Hawks to bury 47 out of 98 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.0% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Jazz shot 40 out of 96 from the floor which had them shooting 41.7%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Utah knocked down 19 of 48 tries (39.6%). They were able to knock down 22 of those for a rate of 88.0%. The Hawks committed 22 fouls for the matchup which took the Jazz to the charity stripe for a total of 25 shots. They also gave up possession 16 times, while getting 8 steals in the matchup. The Jazz pulled down 34 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 47 in the game.

Lauri Markkanen was important for the Jazz for this contest. He knocked down 11 out of 21 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 52.4%, and had 2 rebounds. Markkanen racked up 35 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist for this contest.

Utah has a record of 9-26 so far this season. As an offensive unit, the Jazz are connecting on 46.0% from the floor, which is 18th in the league. Utah has 3,905 points on the year (111.6 per game) and they pull down 45.3 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 24.8 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they turn it over 18.4 times per game. The Jazz are committing 18.7 fouls per contest and they go 79.5% from the charity stripe.

The Utah defense allows 36.2% on 3-pointers (504 of 1,393) and their opposition makes 76.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 28.6 dimes and 41.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is 26th and 3rd in the NBA. The Jazz on defense are ranked 26th in basketball in points given up per game with 118.5. They are forcing their opponents into 11.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.8% from the field (26th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Miami

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