Tip-off: Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -10.5, Total: 214

The Nuggets seek their second straight victory on Friday night when they visit the struggling Heat.

Denver has two games left on a five-game road trip and is coming off of a 120-112 victory over the Magic on Wednesday. The club is averaging 114.8 PPG over the past five games, but still has major struggles on the defensive end. Over the past 10 games, the Nuggets have surrendered 111.9 PPG, compared to the 105.7 PPG they have allowed the whole season (28th in NBA). Fortunately for Denver, if there was ever a good time to face Miami, now is that time as the Heat have lost four of their past five contests. They are coming off of a devastating 96-95 home loss to the Nets as 9-point favorites on Wednesday. In the only matchup between these teams on the season on Dec. 30, Miami went into Pepsi Center and won 97-94, but failed to cover the 5.5-point spread. The Heat are 3-1 SU in this series over the past three seasons, but the Nuggets are 3-1 ATS during this timeframe. Since 1996, Denver is 17-5 ATS after allowing 105+ points in five straight games. However, Miami is 11-1 ATS after having lost three of its past four games over the past three seasons. There are no new injuries for either team.

Can the Heat back into the win column with a convincing double-digit victory? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The five StatFox experts have been surging in NBA Best Bets recently with a 55% ATS record (62-50-1) since Feb. 10. StatFox Dave has a strong 58% ATS (42-31-1) Best Bets record since Dec. 1 and is 54% ATS (52-45-1) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Brian remains red-hot, going 66% ATS (23-12-1) since Jan. 25 and 59% ATS (38-26-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 12.

The Nuggets are coming off a 120-112 victory over the Magic in which PF Kenneth Faried (12.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG) had 26 points (11-of-18 FG) and nine rebounds. Faried has been on a tear recently, averaging 22.2 PPG and 10.6 RPG over the past five contests. His ability to run the floor like a guard and rebound at such a high level should give the Heat problems when they play a small-ball lineup. PG Ty Lawson (18.6 PPG, 9.0 APG) also played extremely well against the Magic, finishing with 17 points and 12 assists in 31 minutes of play. Lawson is averaging 21.2 PPG and 10.8 APG over the past five contests and should have a mismatch against the Heat, as they are weakest at the point guard position. Lawson had 26 points and seven assists in 40 minutes in the loss to Miami in December. One player who struggled in that first meeting, and must be better on Friday is SF Wilson Chandler (14.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG). Chandler had just 13 points (6-of-17 FG, 1-of-6 threes) and was really off in his 41 minutes of play. But Chandler is coming off of a 21-point, 10-rebound performance against the Magic, and must carry his momentum into a matchup with LeBron James. If he doesn’t play well, then it will be very difficult for Denver to pull off an upset of this magnitude.

The Heat lost a bad home game against the Nets on Wednesday night and must get back on track if they are going to catch up to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings. SF LeBron James (26.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.5 APG) has struggled over the past five games, averaging just 20.0 PPG in 39.0 MPG. He does, however, continue to contribute elsewhere in the box score as he is averaging 7.2 APG and 6.0 RPG over that span. James had 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the Miami win over Denver on Dec. 30. PF Chris Bosh (16.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG) also played well in that game, finishing with 17 points (8-of-12 FG) and five rebounds in 37 minutes. SG Dwyane Wade (19.3 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.7 RPG) has really picked up his game while James has struggled, averaging 21.8 PPG, 5.0 APG and 1.2 SPG over the past five contests. Wade was only able to play 18 minutes in the last game against Denver, but he still managed to score 12 points (6-of-9 FG). The Heat need their three All-Stars to play well collectively if they are going to get themselves out of their recent slump.