Heat vs Bobcats Odds
The Miami Heat have taken a three-game lead in Round 1 over the Charlotte Bobcats, and they’ll look to close out their opponents Monday night on TNT. The two will face off at 7:00 p.m. ET in what could be the final game of the series.[ad-4468020]
No. 2 Miami (3-0) @ No. 7 Charlotte (0-3)
Monday, April 28 7:00 PM ET (TNT)
AmericanAirlines Arena
Spread: Miami -7.5
Over/Under: 188
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Miami
The Miami Heat haven’t looked invincible up to this point against the Bobcats, but they’ve been good enough to win the first three games in the series. Specifically, their defense has been strong. They’ve held Charlotte to just 90 points per contest, and that’s going to be a big theme entering Friday’s game.
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Offensively, Miami has gotten great production out of LeBron James and solid production from Dwyane Wade.
Unfortunately, Charlotte is a stout defensive unit, and it has been able to hold every other player on the Heat’s roster under 14 points per night.
At this juncture, the game comes down to whether not the Heat try and coast to a series sweep. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA, meaning if Miami wants, it can essentially take a night off and hope it comes away with a win despite not playing 100 percent.
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The Heat may look this way at times, but overall, expect them to understand what a win would mean for their rest entering the conference semifinals.
Charlotte
Conversely to Miami’s potential lackluster mentality, the Bobcats are going to come out firing. Their playoff lives are on the line, and they recognize that if they lose they won’t play another game until the 2014-15 campaign.
The question here is whether or not that will make a significant difference. Don’t take anything anyway from what Charlotte accomplished this season, but the Heat are a different animal.
Without Al Jefferson being 100 percent, it’s questionable whether this team can score enough points to compete with Miami on a nightly basis.
Entering Game 4, Charlotte has lost 18 straight games to Miami.
That’s more than just a noteworthy trend—it’s a fact that proves this squad can’t compete against elite franchises just yet.
Charlotte won’t make this one easy on the Heat, but don’t expect an upset, either. Miami should walk away with a win, giving it time to rest before a Round 2 matchup against either the veteran Brooklyn Nets or up-and-coming Toronto Raptors.
Prediction: Miami 105 – Charlotte 95
