Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick, Wednesday November 15th: Miami, OH vs Buffalo 7:00pm ET
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Two Eastern Conference teams playing well will get to test each other for the second time this season. The Brooklyn Nets (6-5; 9-1-1 ATS) are in South Beach again, where the Miami Heat (7-4; 4-7-0 ATS) eagerly await. On November 1, Brooklyn beat the Heat 109-105 in Kaseya Center. At 7:30 p.m. EDT this Thursday, they can do it again. With the way Miami is playing, it won't be easy. Who will come out on top?
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Missing Ben Simmons (leading team in rebounds and assists) and Cam Thomas (leading scorer), Brooklyn would've been excused for losing on Tuesday. Instead, they walked away with a 20-point victory during an In-Season Tournament game. Spencer Dinwiddie (29 points, 9 assists) stepped up for a team that NBA.com now has ranked seventh in offensive rating. This Nets team thrives by taking 44.6% of their shots from beyond the arc and knocking down 38.0% (3rd) of them. They also have a top-10 turnover percentage offensively, meaning that they take good care of the rock. Brooklyn won't attempt a lot of free throws or bully opponents at the rim, but they don't need to. Seven players are averaging at least 1.9 three-point makes per game. Almost the entire rotation is a threat from distance.
Flipping to the other end, Brooklyn is 15th in defensive rating. Most of that came without Cameron Johnson an d Nic Claxton, two strong defenders who are both healthy now. They'll hopefully reinforce a defense that allows 44.4% of opponents' attempts to come from deep and lets foes hit 65.7% of their shots at the rim. The Nets' defense is also the NBA's second-worst at forcing turnovers. At least they avoid fouling shooters and rebound well defensively.