The Miami Heat are visiting the Mile-High City on Wednesday to play the Denver Nuggets for the second time this season. With that being said, it’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Heat-Nuggets prediction and pick.

The Heat have won six of their last ten games for a record of 28-26 and are currently sitting in the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are still holding on to the 4th seed in the Western Conference despite having lost two straight games for a record of 34-20.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Heat-Nuggets odds.

NBA Odds: Heat-Nuggets Odds

Miami Heat +5.5 (-111)

Denver Nuggets -5.5 (-109)

Over 210.5 Points (-110)

Under 210.5 Points(-110)

Why The Heat Could Cover The Spread

The Heat have had a lot of up-and-downs this season but have not been able to get on a consistent rhythm or winning streak.

Erik Spoelstra's squad currently has the sixth-worst offensive rating in the association. This Miami team is being led by Jimmy Butler on the offensive and defensive end of the floor. So far this season, Butler is averaging 21.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game while shooting an efficient 50 percent from the field.

Spoelstra has a lot of offensive weapons at his disposal in addition to Butler including but not limited to Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Victor Oladipo. In total, this Miami team has seven players contributing double-digits per contest.

The most notable attribute about this Heat team though is each individual player's commitment on the defensive end of the floor where they currently hold the 6th best defensive rating in the NBA.

The Heat will need their defense to show up against the very talented Nikola Jokic for the Nuggets who can help the team get a bucket and/or find the open man for the shot. This will be the key for this Miami team to cover the spread on Wednesday.

Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread

Michael Malone’s squad took a huge hit after the news that one of their star players, Jamal Murray, had suffered a torn ACL in the left knee against the Warriors on Monday.

The young star was averaging 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game for the season so far while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the three-point line.

The Nuggets will look to their other star Jokic to carry more of the load offensively. The All-Star has been putting up MVP numbers this season averaging 26.2 points,  10.9 rebounds, and 8.8 assists while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Coach Malone will need his other starters—Michael Porter Jr., Will Barton, and Gordon—to step it up offensively as well to make up for the loss of Murray.

The area that this Denver team struggles though is on the defensive end where they were ranked dead last at one point during this season. As of late, the Nuggets have been starting to figure it out and should improve significantly in the next couple of weeks with the addition of Gordon, whose size and length make him a great individual defensive player.

The key for this Denver team will be for either Jokic, Porter, or Gordon to make up the loss in offensive production with Murray now out especially against a very talented defensive team in the Heat.

Final Heat-Nuggets Prediction & Pick

This is another classic battle between a very talented offensive team with the Nuggets and a very talented defensive team with the Heat. Looking at the first matchup between the two teams, the Nuggets had a very balanced offense night as six players scored in double digits with Jokic leading the way. With Murray now out, the Nuggets offense may take a hit but  Denver still takes the edge because of the recent struggles from Miami. That being said, the Nuggets will cover the spread and pick up their first win after losing two consecutive games.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION & PICK FOR HEAT-NUGGETS: MIA 96, DEN 102 (DEN -5.5)