Hornets vs Heat Odds, Picks and Prediction

• Miami is a a 6-point home favorite against Charlotte at 7:30 pm ET Friday on ESPN
• The Heat are 3-1 straight up and ATS, 2-0 ATS at home
• The Hornets are 4-1 straight up and ATS, 3-0 ATS on the road

The Miami Heat (3-1) are a 6-point favorite against Southeast Division foe Charlotte at 7:30 pm Friday on ESPN. The Heat have won and covered both of their home games, and they blew out reigning NBA champion Milwaukee 137-95 in the season opener.

Charlotte (4-1) has won and covered all three of its road games. Both teams have beaten preseason NBA title favorite Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. The Hornets won by 16 as a 9-point underdog last Sunday and the Heat won by 13 as a 3.5-point dog in their most recent game Wednesday.

Charlotte vs Miami Odds

*Odds from DraftKings on Oct. 26

Charlotte leads the NBA in scoring at 121.2 points per game,  2.4 more points than the second-place Knicks. Miami has allowed a league-low 95 points per game, one of five teams to hold their opponents under 100. The Heat’s point differential of +15.3 points per game is a league best.

Heat Cool You Down

Miami has limited opponents to a 39.2 field goal percentage and 28.6 from three-point range while playing a more physical game this season. They’re led by two-way forecourt weapons forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo and newcomer PJ Tucker, a defense-first forward.

Butler leads the league in defensive win shares at 0.5, and Adebayo is second at 0.4. Tucker, who can match up against two through five, had a hand in holding former Bucks’ teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo to 15 points in the season opener.

Adebayo is averaging a double-double at 19.3 points and 12.8 rebounds and was a rebound shy of his fourth straight double-double against the Nets. Butler had 36 points against Orlando and was three assists shy of a triple-double against Brooklyn.  Distance shooter Tyler Herro is averaging 21.0 points off the bench

The Heat have not been out-rebounded in a game this season and were plus-20 against both Milwaukee and the Nets. Miami had 31 second-chance points on Wednesday. The Nets’ had four.

Hornets on a Roll

Charlotte just missed out on a 5-0 start both straight-up and ATS, with its only loss coming in a 140-129 home setback to Boston on Monday.

The Hornets have scored at least 120 points in four of their five games, with Miles Bridges (26.2 points, 8.0 rebounds) and LaMelo Ball (19.6 points, 6.0 assists) leading the way. Bridges had a season-high 31 points against Orlando on Wednesday and has three 30-point games.

Guard Terry Rozier has played only one game of the Hornets’ five games because of a left ankle injury and has missed the last three. He is questionable for Miami. He had six points in 24 minutes against Cleveland in the second game of the season but has not played since.

Hornets forward PJ Washington has missed the last two games with a right knee sprain, and the Hornets signed Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract Wednesday. Mulder averaged 5.6 points a game in 60 games with Golden State last season.

By the Numbers

The Heat are 5-3 straight up and 4-3-1 in the last eight as a home favorite in the series. Charlotte has won and covered the last two in Miami, winning the only game between the two at the FTX Arena in the pared down 2020-21 season.

The Bucket been ballin'@raf_tyler has dropped 84 points off the bench this season, the most in the first 4 games by a reserve in HEAT history pic.twitter.com/gWIThdLChv

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 28, 2021

Charlotte is 3-1 overall and 3-1 ATS in the last four meetings. Charlotte has won and covered three of the last five as an underdog in Miami. Both teams are playing well.

The pick: Charlotte +6 (-110)