Magic vs. Heat prediction and odds for Friday, January 27

The Miami Heat have a nice little homestand going. They have back-to-back wins over New Orleans and Boston, two contenders, and now they’re the sixth seed in the east at 27-22. Miami’s most recent win, 98-95 over Boston, came without Jimmy Butler on the floor. He’ll be back tonight, but Bam Adebayo was able to carry the offense in his stead. Adebayo finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds.

Next up on this homestand is the 19-29 Orlando Magic, coming off a win over Indiana. Here are the odds for this all Florida matchup in South Beach.

Magic vs. Heat odds, spread and total

Magic vs. Heat prediction and pick

Orlando also has two straight wins including one over Boston, but those wins came at home, and this young team struggles mightily on the road. They’re 6-17 in away games. At home their offensive rating is 115.2 and they have a 0.3 net rating. On the road both plummet to 107.9 and -6.6. It’s not a long road trip, just down to Miami, so maybe it won’t be as daunting for one of the worst road teams in the league.

Bam Adebayo had to carry the offense with Jimmy Butler resting, but tonight Bam’s primary responsibility will be shutting down Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, the two dynamic, lengthy forwards for Orlando. Other than Bam, Miami doesn’t have a lot of length, either down low or on the wings. They’ll have their hands full with the Magic who play massive lineups with 6-foot-10 Banchero or 6-foot-10 Wagner at the three. Right now, 6-foot-5 Caleb Martin is starting games at power forward for the Heat, he’s basically the same height as Markelle Fultz.

The NBA is a small-ball league, we know that’s true, but Miami is severely undersized in this matchup and I think that’ll matter most tonight. They may not win a lot, but the Magic are 6-0 against the spread in their last six road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change