The Phoenix Suns will be going for their fifth win in six games when they face the Miami Heat at the Footprint Center on Saturday. The Heat have had two days off coming into this game, but this is also their fifth game of a six-game road trip.
Will Miami find a way to dig deep and put up a fight against Phoenix in a hostile environment? Keep reading our Heats vs. Suns NBA picks and predictions for January 8 to find out.
Heat vs Suns odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The Heat were getting 8.5 points for the opening line in this one, but they can be found as just 8-point underdogs on some books. Meanwhile, the total here was set at 216.5 and has since gone to 217 in some places.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Heat vs Suns predictions
Predictions made on 01/8/2022 at 1:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for the 2021-22 NBA season, here are two of the best welcome bonuses available:
USA: Caesars Greetings! From now through 1/19/2022, any user that opts in to Caesars’ promotion and places $100 worth of settled bets (by 1/19) will receive a gift card for a FREE NBA Jersey. Opt in Now
Canada: Get a 100%-matched sign-up bonus (up to $400) at BetVictor. Claim Now
Heat vs Suns game info
• Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022
• Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. ET
• TV: BSSUN, BSAZ
Heat vs Suns betting preview
Injuries
Heat: Jimmy Butler F (Questionable), Bam Adebayo C (Out), Dewayne Dedmon C (Out), Markieff Morris F (Out), Victor Oladipo G (Out).
Suns: Deandre Ayton C (Probable), Jae Crowder F (Probable), JaVale McGee C (Probable), Landry Shamet G (Out), Abdel Nader F (Out), Frank Kaminsky C (Out), Dario Saric F (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Heat are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven games against teams with winning percentages above 60.0%. Find more NBA betting trends for Heat vs. Suns.
Heat vs Suns picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Suns are beginning to get a little hot again and they now look set to get back some key pieces, with Deandre Ayton being the most important one. Phoenix has gotten solid play out of its short-term center options over the last few weeks, but none of them make the same impact as Ayton. The big man should be able to really give the Heat some trouble in tonight’s game, especially with Bam Adebayo injured. Miami should, however, keep this game reasonably close — even if it’s just a few runs here and there that prevent Phoenix from fully pulling away.
Whether or not Butler is out there, the Heat are going to have guys like Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro to gun away and continue to apply pressure on the Suns. Phoenix tends to get sloppy in games the team is expected to win, and the Suns can get especially careless if they go up a decent amount. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Suns are flirting with a double-digit lead multiple times throughout this game, but the Heat have the talent to ultimately end up covering in the end. That’s something opponents like the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers weren’t able to do in Phoenix’s last two games.
Lowry is the one that is truly going to be a pain for the Suns to deal with, as he’s one of the few players in the league that can match Chris Paul with his savvy and toughness. That matchup should be a fun one to watch, and you should expect Lowry to hold his own.
Prediction: Heat +8.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Under has now hit in three of Phoenix’s last five games and the team has the third-best defensive rating in the league over those five games. Now, the Suns should get even better on that end of the floor, as they’ll get Ayton and McGee back. Jalen Smith did a good job holding down the center spot for Phoenix, but both Ayton and McGee are stronger on the defensive end. That’ll make things tough on Miami, but the Heat are also going to help Under bettors in this one. After having two days of rest, they should be fired up and ready to compete on the defensive end.
The Under also happens to be 7-2 in Miami’s last nine games against teams with winning records. On top of that, the Under is 7-3 in Phoenix’s last 10 against opponents with winning percentages of at least 60.0%.
Prediction: Under 217 (-110)
Best bet
As previously mentioned, the Heat are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven games against teams with winning percentages above 60.0%. Even with multiple players down, you can generally count on this Miami team to come out and play hard against the league’s best. The Suns, meanwhile, are just 4-9 against the spread in their last 13 games against opponents with winning percentages above 60.0%, and they also happen to be 1-4 against the spread in their last five home games against teams with winning road records.
It also should be noted that Miami is 7-2 against the spread as a road underdog this season, and the team is also 26-12-1 against the spread when coming off three straight games that went Over the total in the last three seasons.
Pick: Heat +8.5 (-110)
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s NBA Heat vs. Suns predictions and picks in a single-game parlay, you could win $26.45 on a $10 bet?
Use our NBA parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
