NBA Picks: Spurs vs Heat NBA Odds – March 16, 2010: Two teams presently occupying the seventh spot in their respective playoff standings will collide at the American Airlines Arena in South Florida, as the (35-32) Miami Heat [-1½] host the sports betting odds underdog (39-25) San Antonio Spurs [+1½] this evening. This game is scheduled to tip off at 7:40 PM ET (6:40 PM CT) and it will be broadcasted live in high definition on SUNSPM, FSSW-SA and/or on NBA-TV.
Both Miami and San Antonio come into this game with three in a row each. For the Spurs, they currently sit in second place in the Southwest Division, trailing the division leading (45-22) Dallas Mavericks by 4½ games. For those interested, the OVER/UNDER between the Spurs and Heat is set at a combined total of 187½ points.
For San Antonio, the loss of All-Star point-guard, Tony Parker is huge going into the playoffs. Parker suffered a broken hand on March 6th and has already been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. With the loss of Parker, coach Gregg Popovich has seen the emergence of second-year man George Hill.
Hill has done a terrific job of picking up the slack at the one, and has even displayed some signs of leadership. During a recent timeout, “Pop” handed hill the clipboard and let the young man take over his job momentarily.
“Sometimes it's good to let the players do some of the coaching,” Popovich said. “It makes them think a little bit and really give them confidence in what we're doing as a group.”
For Miami, injuries and suspensions have also had an impact on this team’s season thus far. Point-guard Rafer Alston has apparently been suspended for the rest of the season after taking off on his teammates two weeks ago. His reasons remain a topic of conversation around the league.
Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade is doing his best to keep his team focused on the task at hand. The Heat have responded by winning six of seven overall and sic straight at the triple-A for the first time since the 2006-2007 campaign.
“Coming out of the All-Star break we expected to go on a run,” Wade was quoted as saying on the team’s site. “We looked at our schedule and we understood that the toughest part was behind us.”
