Will the Wizards defend their lead in the East?

With Miami against Washington, a top game in the Eastern Conference is coming up. The Wizards have had a very good start to the season and travel to the East as the league leaders. Only four of the 14 league games played have ended in defeat for the professionals from the Potomac River.

For their part, the home side go into the encounter with fewer personnel worries than before, as Jimmy Butler has been able to return to action since the last matchday. For the Southeast Division clash at FTX Arena between Miami and Washington, betting on an away win seems lucrative, with a handicap of +7.5 points selected for the visitors.

Miami Heat – Statistics & current form

Miami Heat had a great start to the new season, but things went downhill in the meantime: After six wins and only one defeat to start the season, a weak phase followed with four defeats and just as many victories for head coach Erik Spoelstra’s men.

The trip to the West Coast was particularly disappointing with losses to the Lakers and Clippers, as both LA franchises are currently playing with personnel problems.

The reason for the downturn was again the injury to Jimmy Butler. The small forward was suffering from an ankle injury sustained in the recent game against the Lakers. Butler is hardly replaceable for Miami: an average of more than two steals and 24.3 points per game show his individual class.

Butler has returned with a strong performance

Now the 32-year-old is available again and in his comeback last night he delivered a triple-double with 31 points among others and played a decisive role in the victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.

For the upcoming duel, tips on more than 22.5 points by him are therefore also interesting. A limit he has already exceeded in seven of his twelve appearances and Butler is particularly fond of scoring in home games. His 27.8 points on home soil are well above his 20.7 points in the visiting games.

However, the three-time champions can also rely on Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo alongside “Jimmy Bucket”, at least on the offensive end. Like Butler, they have averaged more than 20 points per game so far this season! The latter centre, however, will not be able to play for the time being due to an injury.

Lowry acclimatises visibly

In addition, newcomer Kyle Lowry is getting better. The former Raptors player delivered two double-doubles in the past four games in terms of points as well as assists and is slowly developing into the hoped-for reinforcement for the six-time Eastern Conference winner at the one.

Projected Miami Heat lineup:
Robinson – Herro – Adebayo – Tucker – Lowry

Washington Wizards – Statistics & current form

The Washington Wizards have developed a new quality this season. We are talking about the defence, which in previous years was often one of the worst in the NBA. But now the team of head coach Wes Unseld Jr. ranks a very good fourth in the defensive rating.

Not available for the 1978 champions was Bradley Beal, who sat out a few games due to a death in the family. Now the squad’s best shooter from the Southeast Division is back. However, even he could not change anything in the defeat in Charlotte last night. The loss ended a four-game unbeaten streak for the D.C. franchise.

Gafford with upward form curve

The visitors were pleased with the performance of Daniel Gafford despite the defeat. The centre is completing his second season in the Federal City and against Charlotte he delivered his best performance of the season so far with 20 points and nine boards.

The away record of the four-time winners of the Eastern Conference, on the other hand, remains capable of improvement. Although the majority of the seven guest games have been won so far, the win rate is around 30 percent lower compared to the home games.

In addition, the victories away from home have only come against weak teams like Orlando, who are bottom of the league. Nevertheless, the return of Bradley Beal in Miami’s game against Washington also offers odds of more than 99.5 points by the visitors. Only in four of the eleven games with Beal on board did the Wizards remain below a three-digit point total.

Predicted line-up of Washington Wizards:
Kuzma – Beal – Gafford – Caldwell-Pope – Dinwiddie

Miami Heat – Washington Wizards Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The most recent head-to-head meeting took place last February, when the Magic City’s hoopsters prevailed 122-95. In the past five meetings, it was the fourth win for Miami.

Spoelstra’s squad’s recent home record is also impressive in this pairing, with 70 per cent of their last ten home games against the basketballers from the capital victorious.

Miami Heat – Washington Wizards Tip

Miami was brought back down to earth on their recent road trip. The three visiting games against the Lakers, Clippers and Nuggets were all lost, which is why they went down in the Eastern Conference standings.

Recently, however, the home side has bounced back with three wins and the return of Jimmy Butler has put Miami in a better position. For the game between the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards, however, the tip is for an away win – including a handicap of +7.5 points for the visitors.

The Wizards are travelling to the game in first place in the table and their personnel situation has also improved, as their best shooter, Bradley Beal, has been available again since the last matchday. Instead, the home side will have to do without Bam Adebayo and Victor Oladipo. Against this backdrop, there is at least no sign of a defeat for the capital.

Unibet offers odds of 1.84 on the Miami-Washington clash