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Rockets, Heat collide in clash of unbeatens Tuesday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 11/4/2014  at  5:23:00 AM
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HOUSTON ROCKETS (4-0)

at MIAMI HEAT (3-0)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -2, Total: 191

Two teams that are undefeated, the Rockets and Heat, go head-to-head in South Beach on Tuesday night.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook season betting preview for the Miami Heat:

The Rockets have played excellent basketball through the first four games where they have defeating their opponents by an average of 13.5 PPG and are a perfect 3-0-1 ATS. They have shot a solid 44.9% from the field in these games as they have hit the most three-pointers per game (13.5) in the league. On Monday against Philadelphia, they were able to pull out a 104-93 victory as 11-point favorites while making 16-of-34 (47.1%) shots from behind the arc. Miami may have lost LeBron James in the offseason, but the club still has plenty of talent, winning each of its first three games (SU and ATS) by an average of 11.7 PPG. The Heat's most impressive win occurred on Sunday when they beat 2-point underdog Toronto 107-102. They made half of their 70 shots and outrebounded the Raptors by 15 boards (43-28). These teams met twice last season with each of them winning their game at home (both SU and ATS) while the average total was 213. They both shot efficiently in the matchups, hitting more than 47% of their shots in each contest. Overall since 1996, the Heat are 23-11 SU (19-15 ATS) in the matchup while posting a dominant 14-4 SU mark (11-7 ATS) when at home in that time. Trends show that the Rockets are 19-13 ATS (59%) in November games since the start of the 2012-13 season while Miami is 19-9 ATS (68%) after three or more consecutive Overs in the same timeframe. As far as injuries are concerned, Houston has PG Patrick Beverley (hamstring) listed as questionable while the Heat have the trio of SF Danny Granger (hamstring), Udonis Haslem (quad) and Chris Andersen (ribs) also questionable.

Which team will remain undefeated on Tuesday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Zach posted a 54% ATS mark (65-56-4) in NBA Best Bets last season, while StatFox Forecaster had a 53.4% ATS (207-181-12) in featured games last season. StatFox Scott and StatFox Gary are both off to a 60% ATS start (3-2) to the young season.

The Rockets are once again looking like one of the elite offenses in the league with 105.0 PPG (44.9% FG) and scoring at least 104 points in each win. Their defense has also been very impressive in holding their opponents to a meager 91.5 PPG on 41.0% FG. SG James Harden (23.8 PPG, 6.8 APG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG) has been filling the stat sheet so far despite shooting a poor 37% from the floor. He excelled in his two contests against the Heat last season though, going for 25.5 PPG (52% FG), 6.0 APG and 3.5 RPG. C Dwight Howard (15.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.3 BPG) has a double-double in three of the first four games this season and was a force on defense in Monday’s game with four blocks and three steals. He’s averaged a solid double-double (17.2 PPG, 13.3 RPG) while hitting 56% of his shots and blocking 1.6 shots per game over his 36 career starts against Miami. SG Trevor Ariza (17.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG) looks like a great offseason acquisition while having his best game with Houston in Monday’s victory (24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds). Last season, as a member of the Wizards, Ariza averaged 13.5 PPG (43% FG), 4.8 RPG and 2.3 SPG over four meetings with the Heat.

Despite losing the best player in the league, Miami has gotten off to a fast start by scoring the second-most points in the NBA (109.3 PPG) while shooting 49% from the floor. They have also done fairly well on defense by allowing fewer than 100 points in two of three games despite allowing a poor 49% of shots to fall for their opposition. C Chris Bosh (25.7 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG) has elevated his play so far this season with at least 20 points in each of his first three games while hitting 23-of-48 shots (48% FG). In his career against the Rockets (18 games, 17 starts), he has tallied 19.6 PPG (51% FG) and 8.6 RPG while swatting away 1.2 shots per game. SG Dwyane Wade (16.3 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.0 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has become the floor manager with James gone, and has 17 assists over his past two contests. Wade is coming off a huge performance against the Raptors on Sunday (19 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks). He’s faced Houston 19 times in his career and dropped 26.9 PPG (47% FG), 6.4 APG and 5.2 RPG in that time. SF Luol Deng (15.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG) has taken some time to adjust to his new team, but has still been efficient this season by making 19-of-33 shots (58% FG) with a mere three turnovers. In his 11-year career, Deng has faced the Rockets 18 times (16 starts) with strong results of 15.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG.


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