11/10 Utah vs. Miami
7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 4-5
Season series: Tied 0-0
The Miami Heat were one of the hottest teams to close the 2016-17 season as they just barely missed out on the final playoff seed in the East. However, they have yet to truly pick up where they left off and remain a force in the league. For the most part, the Heat have lost to who you would think they’d lose to and they’ve defeated the teams you’d predict them to beat. However, they did have a surprising victory in their latest bout as they defeated the LA Clippers on Sunday despite a furious comeback effort.
Thus, this is a team that isn’t fantastic by any means, but is certainly able of surprising opponents. Part of their early season woes were also due to the loss of Hassan Whiteside to injury, but he is now back in action and was superb in last night’s win over the Clippers as he notched 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting while adding 17 rebounds and two blocks.
He along with point guard Goran Dragic have paced this Heat team and made them a force to be reckoned with. The Heat were able to surprise the Jazz with a victory within Vivint Smart Home Arena last season and if the Jazz aren’t careful, they may find themselves outmatched once again.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that such might be the case. I was certainly tempted to pin the Jazz at 3-0 for the week and truly hope and believe they can do that. However, it seems that when I’m overly optimistic on my predictions it only jinxes the Jazz. So partially because of that, I’m actually going to predict that the Jazz fall short in this one.
My lame superstitions aside, though, I also think that Miami is going to come out on top, because (again as much as it pains me to say it) I think Whiteside is going to get the best of the Jazz this time. The Stifle Tower simply hasn’t looked as stifling so far this year and Whiteside certainly will have a chip on his shoulder going up against a guy who was selected well above him for Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA honors.
Not only that, but I think that the Heat are better than their record shows and the Jazz have yet to convince me that they can execute enough on either end of the floor to be able to consistently compete with even middle-of-the pack teams. Therefore, while I could easily see Utah stopping a truly mediocre Heat team, I’m going to play devil’s advocate in this one and slate Miami as coming out on top.
My Prediction: Heat Win
Final Score: Miami 101, Utah 95