Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs – NBA, Thursday, February 3, 2022

It’ll be a rematch of the 2013 and 2014 NBA Finals as the Miami Heat take on the San Antonio Spurs. There are different players on each side, but the coaches remain the same.

The two teams were going to play on December 29, but COVID forced them to reschedule for February 3. Now, they’ll face off for the first time in San Antonio.

Miami is the superior team, but can you ever count out a Gregg Popovich coached team? Let’s see how SportsBetting.ag views this matchup.

The Miami Heat are 13 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, yet they are only a (-2.5) point favorite. The sportsbooks give a lot of respect to the Spurs.

Miami has been on a bit of a cold streak lately with the spread. They’ve failed to cover in four straight games and five of their last seven. However, we might have a tell with the point total. Miami leads the league with 33 games hitting the over. They’ve hit the over in seven straight games.

The Heat are missing a few players, with Kyle Lowry being their biggest difference-maker. Lowry has missed the last nine games for personal reasons and likely won’t be back for Thursday’s matchup.

Jakob Poeltl suffered a head injury on Tuesday night and could miss Thursday night’s game.

We talked about the betting trends and injury report. Now let’s check out a breakdown of the Heat and Spurs.

The Miami Heat were an active team in free agency, adding Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, and Markieff Morris. Morris has missed most of the season, but the other two players have helped the Heat contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Miami dropped back-to-back games to begin January, but they followed that up by winning nine of 11 games to become the best team in the Eastern Conference.

A three-game losing streak has dropped them out of the top spot, but they’re only a game behind the Chicago Bulls. In this losing streak, Miami’s defense has let them down.

That’s surprising for a team that allows the fourth-fewest points in the Eastern Conference. What’s interesting about Miami’s success in January is their star players scored at a lower clip than their season average.

Bam Adebayo missed some time, but he opened February with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Adebayo might not put up numbers like that every night, but he can pop off at any time.

Jimmy Butler has been on fire lately. Check out his performance on January 29 against the Toronto Raptors.

Butler has taken on a playmaking role with Lowry out of the lineup. He has at least eight assists in eight of his last ten games. Butler has long been one of the most underrated players in the league, and he should keep up this pace.

Tyler Herro gives Miami a boost off the bench, but he hasn’t scored over 20 points in four straight games. It’ll be interesting to see if he can get back on track for Thursday night’s matchup.

The San Antonio Spurs have been in an unusual spot. They missed the playoffs once from 1990-2018, but they haven’t made it in the last two seasons. It looks like they’ll extend that streak, as they sit 12th in the Western Conference.

San Antonio hovered around .500 early in the season, but they have plummeted since the start of 2022. They have only won five games in the calendar year, but they recently picked up an impressive victory over the Chicago Bulls.

It’s been a rough performance on the defensive end. Check out the points allowed in the Spurs’ last four games.

How can you win when your team is consistently giving up 115+ points? The Spurs’ offense simply isn’t good enough to do that. However, we know the Spurs have one star in Dejounte Murray.

We talk about players like Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, and Luka Doncic for triple-doubles, but Murray has the second-most this season. He was especially impressive in January.

Murray doesn’t receive much recognition because the Spurs aren’t in playoff contention. Either way, he might make the All-Star Game, but everyone needs to notice him. The Miami Heat will have their hands full.

Then we move on to who will step up alongside Murray? Keldon Johnson shot over 40 percent from three-point range for the third month in a row.

Hopefully, Jakob Poeltl will be ready for this matchup because he was playing the best basketball of his career. Excluding Tuesday night’s game, Poeltl scored 18+ points in five of his last seven games. It’d be nice to see him battle Bam Adebayo.

The Miami Heat come in on a three-game losing streak, but they are far better than the San Antonio Spurs. Kyle Lowry likely won’t play, but the Heat should have their other stars. Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to.

I’m a big Dejounte Murray fan, but he can’t battle Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro by himself. Miami should end their losing skid with a road victory.

Bettors can start a winning streak by checking out our basketball betting guide.