Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/12/2022

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: FTX Arena, Miami, FL

Where to watch: BSSUN, YES

WynnBet: Heat -10

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Nets: 29-26

Heat: 36-20

Nets: lost 10 straight

Heat: won four straight

The NBA is a weird thing.

We can spend months on end trying to figure out what will actually happen in the world of the trade market. Whether it be just the simplest of trades like a cap dump or even something as crazy as an earth-shattering trade, we sit back and wonder about life’s craziest things and if they will ever happen.

And in the case of Thursday afternoon, the thing that we really didn't think would happen actually did. Not only did the Brooklyn Nets trade James Harden, but they got Ben Simmons. In one move on Thursday afternoon, two disgruntled superstars found their way out of their respective markets.

And as a result here we are going into a Saturday matchup where the Nets will be taking on the Miami Heat, and we have to brace ourselves for the thought that Ben Simmons is actually going to be wearing a Nets jersey at some point and will be playing at some point with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Brooklyn was in a crossroads. Not even at a crossroads, they were literally in the crossroads with no perpendicular direction go off of. Either they kept hiring for the rest of the season and he tried to work things out with Durant and Irving, or Brooklyn could have just pulled the trigger and moved forward with possibly the biggest trade we will see this season.

And that turned out to be the case. The Nets move on from superstar they acquired not even two years ago, end isn't necessarily starting over, but it is definitely a weird feeling than where they were just three weeks ago.

Out goes the potential triple-double on a nightly basis from Harden and incomes one of the best defensive players in the league, one of the best playmakers in the league, and one of the most versatile forwards in the game minus a jump shot. And that's really what it comes down to when evaluating this trade for the Nets. What version of Simmons are they going to eventually get?

Because as it stands right now, unless he went through some rigorous shooting training while going through his mental issues, Simmons still doesn't know how to shoot. And if he is going to get any counsel from Durant or even Irving on how to shoot and how to actually work within the realms of Steve Nash is offense then this is going to be a bigger adjustment than I think any of us feared.

"Make no bones about it: We went all-in on getting James Harden and inviting him to the group," Nets general manager Sean Marks said. "And these decisions to move on from a player like that, of that caliber, are never easy ones. I just want to be clear that this is not something that you think, great, let's just make a split decision and move on from that. I give James a lot of credit for having open dialogue, open discussions with me and with the group, [Nets coach Steve Nash] and [owner] Joe Tsai and everybody over the last 24, 48 hours.

"Again, I said they're not easy, but I think that's something we pride ourselves on is being open and honest. James was honest with us and we were honest with him. I think it's a move that enables him to have a fresh start, enables this team to have a fresh start, without trying to push things to make things work.”

Don't get me wrong, this is going to be one hell of a trade to look back on. The Nets in return also got a couple of first-round picks, not that that really matters, but they also get Seth Curry as another shooter for the likes of Irving and Durant, and they get another capable body that can rebound in Andre Drummond.

There will come a point this season where Joe Harris will return for the Nets and that will add another capable 3 point shooter to this already stacked roster. The key, and most important factor that we need to discuss. Is the fact that the Nets have lost a billion games in a row and there is no sign of believing that they will actually make a comeback out of this.

Brooklyn is going to make the playoffs that is not the disputing factor here. The Nets are going to make the playoffs and, if healthy, will still be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference when all this is said and done. But it is concerning in the fact that Durant is still on the sidelines and the Nets have not been able to put a string of wins together in his absence. It also doesn't help that due to Irving's vaccination status, he can only play a certain amount of games in a certain amount of arenas, and to this point, Barclays Center is not on that list.

So we will have a lot more time to actually dissect this trade for what it's worth. As for this game, it's going to be a doozy because the Nets have to go against the top team in the Eastern Conference and they don't have enough bodies to where you can match them up against Miami and firmly believe that they can beat the Heat in this game.

I'm not fully convinced out of what I've seen from the Nets that they can go into this game, no matter how fired up they are that a trade was made in the excitement of who's coming in, Brooklyn still sucks right now there's no other way to put it. And until I see some different results, I'm not betting them to win this game. Heat by 12

The Nets are 14-3 ATS after three straight games of allowing 50 percent shooting or higher.

The over is 53-38 off a loss for the Nets over the past three seasons.

The Heat are 18-3 ATS off an under this season.

PG: Kyrie Irving

SG: Patty Mills

SF: Cam Thomas

PF: Kessler Edwards

C: Blake Griffin

PG: Kyle Lowry

SG: Duncan Robinson

SF: Jimmy Butler

PF: P.J. Tucker

C: Bam Adebayo

Nets: Ben Simmons (conditioning, out), Kevin Durant (knee, out), Joe Harris (ankle, out), Seth Curry (questionable)

Heat: Tyler Herro (knee, questionable)

Points: Kevin Durant -- 29.3

Rebounds: Kevin Durant -- 7.4

Assists: Kevin Durant -- 5.8

Points: Jimmy Butler -- 22.0

Rebounds: Bam Adebayo -- 10.0

Assists: Kyle Lowry -- 8.1