Heat vs Thunder Betting Line

No football this Sunday? No worries, because Sunday is going to be a great day for NBA basketball. It starts at 1pm EST when the Miami Heat (32-14) visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (30-16). This is a great warm up for the Celtics vs Lakers game at 3:30pm, both of which are being televised nationally on ABC. Call Papa Johns and get the beer ready, we don’t need no stinking football!

Kevin Durant and LeBron James are penciled in, but we’re still waiting to hear if Wade and/or Bosh will be in the lineup for the Heat. Both took the flight to Oklahoma City, but it’s apparently a game-time decision for both players. If one of them plays, it’s more likely to be Wade than Bosh.

Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Lines

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At the time of this writing, the Heat vs Thunder lines haven’t been posted yet. We’ll update this page as soon as they are.

Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder Preview

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are all over the place right now. They lose to good teams, and to some bad teams. Lately, they’re only beating bad teams, and it makes sense considering that Bosh and Wade haven’t been in the lineup much.

Chris Bosh, the other member of the big three is still out with an injury, and Wade is questionable for this matchup on Sunday. Wade has been suffering from migraine head aches and sported a goggled look during the Thursday night loss to the New York Knicks. His defense has given opponents headaches all year long, and he’s still putting up big scoring number as well, averaging 25.3 points per game.

Speaking of headaches, LeBron James has been nothing but for the opposition all year. King James is scoring nearly 26 points per game as his size and speed are unmatched for his position. Only rookie Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers gets more SportsCenter time these days.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City is one of if not the best shooter in the game today, but gets little of the national publicity reserved for Wade, LeBron, Kobe etc.. Durant is in the top five in NBA scoring with 28.8 points per game, plus a huge heart. He’s consistent every night and ranks second on his team in rebounds and assists. The Thunder supporting cast includes Jeff Green and sixth man James Harden, who combine for 25.3 points a contest. Look for Russell Westbrook (22.4 points per game) to run the show from the point while Serge Ibaka and Nenad Krstic round out the starting five for the Thunder.

Miami is in second place in the east looking up at Boston, and being chased by Chicago & Orlando. Their playoff position is going to be in the top four, but a seventh game in Miami for a spot in the Finals is a huge prize. If Miami can get healthy, they have a great shot at making the 2011 NBA Finals, but they’ll need to battle every game to get home court advantage.

For the Thunder, home court is not the issue, it’s about positioning. Do you want to face LA in the second round or San Antonio? Oklahoma City stands fourth right now and would meet San Antonio if they got past their opening round opponent. They are a game and a half behind New Orleans for third place and a match-up with the Lakers.

Heat vs Thunder Prediction

It’s hard to predict the winner of this game without knowing whether Wade will in the lineup or not. If he isn’t, I’ll go with the Thunder in a tight, 2-3 point win. If Wade is in, I’m going with the Heat by 5+. I’ll be putting off my bet until I know who’s playing, and what the spread is. I’ll update this post when that information becomes available.