Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs (-7.5, 195)
The Heat should be thankful they’re not home for New Year’s. With all the parties, after parties and after-after parties happening on South Beach, it would be a wonder if anyone showed up for the game.
But they’re not in Miami, they’re in San Antonio.
Heading into Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets, the Heat have won five of their last six games and are picking up steam in the Southeast Division. During that span head coach Erik Spoelstra has shared the love at point guard, splitting time between Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo.
The juggling seems to be paying off. Miami will counter San Antonio’s All-Star point guard Tony Parker with its two-pronged attack, trying to wear down the scrappy slasher with fresh bodies.
"Much has been made of big-ticket, All-Star-level point guards,'' Spoelstra told the Miami Herald. ''We have a two-headed point guard, and they've been playing very effectively for us.
"It's been a good formula, and so we'll just continue with it like that.''
That also leaves shooting guard Dwyane Wade free to move with the ball and create. He’s thrived with Chalmers and Arroyo handling the ball, averaging 28 points during the team’s three-game win streak.
Pick: Heat
Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls (-3.5, 184)
The Pistons blamed their early-season swoon on injuries. But now that Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince have returned, the team had no idea how to play - or more importantly - win with each other.
Detroit has lost eight straight games heading into Thursday. The most recent defeat came at the hands of the New York Knicks, who shot 51 percent from the field and limited the Pistons to just 42 percent shooting in a 104-87 beating Tuesday night.
"We have a lot of basketball left, but we have to take advantage of all these opportunities," Pistons coach John Kuester told the media. "Getting people back does not mean that you forget what gets you in a position to win, and that's effort, your energy, your understanding of your game plan. We didn't successfully do that consistently."
Prince has struggled to contribute on offense, scoring a total of 11 points in his two games since returning from an abdominal injury. Fellow forward Charlie Villanueva has also struggled since the return of the stars. He bookended an eight-point performance with two goose eggs against the Knicks and Raptors while dealing with foot issues and illness.
"It's still going to take time," Hamilton told reporters of the transition in the lineup. "It's not something that we expect to happen overnight. That just doesn't happen, especially with me and Tayshaun being out as many games as we've been and (Gordon) being out as many games as he's been out.
"It's going to take time. The one thing we want to do is just stay positive with it, stay confident with it, and hopefully, it will turn around."
Pick: Bulls
