Pelicans vs Heat Odds, Lines & Picks (Jan. 22)

• The Pelicans and Heat meet on Sunday afternoon in Miami
• Miami is a 7.5-point favorite against New Orleans and a -290 favorite with Zion Williamson out
• Find the Pelicans vs Heat odds, preview, and prediction below

Sunday afternoon brings an intriguing cross-conference matchup down in South Beach as the struggling New Orleans Pelicans (26-20, 9-14 away) will be looking to get back to their winning ways against the Miami Heat (25-22, 14-9 home).

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET at Miami-Dade Arena. Keep reading for the Pelicans vs Heat odds and prediction.

NOLA continues to slip up without Zion Williamson, losing 123-110 on Friday to the rebuilding Orlando Magic. That’s now three defeats in a row for them. Miami is improving lately but was pummeled by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks Friday as well, 115-90.

Pelicans vs Heat Odds

Odds as of January 21st at FanDuel.

The Heat are favored by 7.5 points at home, where they’ve compiled a 14-9 record. Their moneyline odds come in at -290 for an implied win probability of 74.36%. The Pels come back at +235 for a 29.85% chance of coming out victorious.

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The spread is understandable. Miami is unbeaten in five against New Orleans, winning by an average of 15.8 points, and holding their opponents to under 100 points in every single meeting during that span.

Pelicans Need Zion To Return From Injury

It’s crystal clear that NOLA is unable to be that same dominant force sans Williamson, who is out due to a hamstring injury. The squad has won just three times in nine outings since their franchise star went on the shelf.

It also doesn’t help that Brandon Ingram is sidelined as well with a toe problem. There’s no timetable for return for either player. That’s a big problem for Willie Green’s squad.

There’s just a serious lack of complementary scoring right now around CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas. Both guys were the leading catalysts in Orlando combining for 43 points, but there wasn’t a lot of help. The Pels shot a putrid 29% from three-point land and absolutely disappeared in the fourth.

"We need to find our defensive identity, we're not guarding the way we're capable of. Those are things that we can control, we can make a decision as a team that we want to guard better…just haven't been doing it."

Willie Green tonight. @PelicansNBA | #Pelicans |📺:BSNO pic.twitter.com/4GwtC76k5a

— Bally Sports New Orleans (@BallySportsNO) January 21, 2023

New Orleans was outscored 35-19 in the final period and CJ converted just one field goal. That’s now eight losses in their previous 11 contests. Things can’t get much worse for the Pels right now. With the Heat starting to find themselves, Sunday will be a battle.

Miami Heat Moving Up East Standings

Miami got off to a horrendous start this season. Sure, health played a big part, with Jimmy Butler, in particular, missing a lot of time, but it appears the Heat are now starting to find their footing.

Erik Spoelstra’s squad is 6-4 in their last 10, grabbing wins over the Bucks on two occasions, the Thunder, the Suns, and the Pelicans on Wednesday.

However, Miami got downright outplayed by Dallas a night ago. Between the Mavs’ stout defense and the Heat’s inability to make shots, it turned out to be a stinker, falling by 25 points.

The rotation shot a putrid 20% from deep and committed a whopping 15 turnovers. That translated into a whole 31 points for Dallas. A clear difference-maker.

Pretty much nobody stood out in this game except for Victor Oladipo. He poured in a team-high 20 points on 9 for 12 shooting. Jimmy Buckets had just 12. On a more positive note, the Heat return home Sunday, where they tend to play a mile better.

Pelicans vs Heat Prediction

Miami is wiping the floor with New Orleans in recent matchups. With the Pelicans in poor shape, I believe the Heat can cover here and move to four games above .500.

Pick: Heat -7.5 (-108)