Heat vs Cavaliers Free Pick, NBA Free Picks, NBA Predictions 4/20/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
MIAMI @ CLEVELAND (CLE -12.5, 215.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
HEAT @ CAVALIERS 4/20/25
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat play each other in the playoffs for the first time, fifteen years after LeBron James moved from Northeast Ohio to South Beach to play for the Heat. Miami secured its spot in the playoffs by defeating Atlanta 123-114 on the road on Friday. That secured the 10th seed for the Heat. Miami tied a team record with its sixth consecutive postseason appearance.
The next obstacle for Miami is far more difficult. Cleveland finished first in the Eastern Conference. Miami must now find a way to win four games in the first-round best-of-seven series.
Davion Mitchell and Haywood Highsmith made a number of clutch plays off the bench as the Heat forced overtime against the Hawks after falling behind 98-92 with five minutes remaining. All-Star point guard Tyler Herro and small forward Andrew Wiggins came close to triple-doubles against the Hawks. Bam Adebayo added 17 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks, and five assists. Miami defeated Chicago 109-90 on Wednesday to start the play-in tournament.
The Cavaliers (64-18) finished three games ahead of defending champion Boston and spent the entire winter atop the East, while the Heat (37-45) stumbled to the 20th-best record in the NBA during the regular season.
As a "reward" for winning the conference, Cleveland was kept in the dark about its opponent until forty-five hours prior to the start of Game 1. The Cavaliers worked out at their practice facility for the last four days after taking two days off.
Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers' top scorer, sprained his left ankle on April 6 and was held out of the team's last five games as a precaution. Last Sunday's regular-season finale was another rest day for fellow All-Stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. Kenny Atkinson, the team's first-year coach, progressively raised the level of practice intensity throughout the week to make up for the extended break.
Cleveland should also avoid stumbling right out of the gate thanks to its home-court advantage. The Cavaliers won six more games than any other East team in their arena, going 34-7 at home. The Cavs were also one of the NBA’s best against the number, going 48-33-1 ATS. They also had the NBA’s highest Over percentage - 62.2% - with a 51-31 O/U record.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
HEAT OVER 101.5
Cleveland’s defense is solid, but they still give up 112.4 points per game. They also played at the 10th-fastest pace in the league during the regular season. Playoff Game 1s have a tendency to go Under, but the Heat can hit this team total. They’ve done so in 14 straight games. Over their last 10 games, the Heat have averaged 119.8 ppg. Miami has gone Over this team total in each of the last five games against Cleveland, including the three games this season. The Heat averaged 110.6 ppg and cleared this team total in 79 percent of their games this season.
