Free NBA Pick: Heat vs. 76ers NBA Odds
Looking for Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Heat taking on the 76ers on Friday, May 6th, 2022 at Wells Fargo Center. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Heat 76ers matchup.
2022 NBA Playoffs Handicapping Round 2
(2-0) Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers (0-2)
Date: Friday, May 6th
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NBA Moneyline Odds: Heat -140 | 76ers +135 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Heat -3
NBA Betting Total: 210
The Eastern Conference semi-finals between the top-seeded Miami Heat and fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers shifts venues for two games at Wells Fargo with Game 3 tipping off Friday, May 6th.
The teams split the 2021-22 season series 2-2. The Heat holds the all-time advantage having won 67 times of the club’s 131 regular-season meetings.
This is the third time the clubs are playing in the postseason with each team taking one series. The Heat won the 4-1 in the first round of 2011 while the 76ers returned the favor in 2018 winning 4-1 in the first round.
Miami Heat
While the Heat have taken a stranglehold on the series they haven’t yet played their best game. Sure, they’ve won handily but it’s never seemed like they are playing to the team’s full potential.
Perhaps that’s not very surprising given the absence of superstar Joel Embiid, James Harden still struggling to summon his former MVP capabilities, and the lack of depth particularly from Philly’s reserve unit.
In contrast, Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson haven’t even played in the series yet. Bam Adebayo continues to get whatever he wants in the paint, Tyler Herro is essentially wiping out the entire 76ers reserve unit production while Jimmy Butler has been good enough without being taxed.
In Game 2, Adebayo led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds while Butler registered a double-double of 22 points and 12 assists. Herro (18) and Victor Oladipo (19) combined to score 37 points of the reserve unit’s 52 points versus 19 Sixers bench points.
Lowry (hamstring) has been upgraded to questionable while Herro (ankle), Caleb Martin (ankle), Max Strus (hamstring), Gabe Vincent (knee), and PJ Tucker (calf) are all questionable for Friday.
Philadelphia 76ers
While the series shifts to Philly the big question is whether Joel Embiid will be able to play Friday and it’s not so much about his orbital fracture (they’ve crafted a mask for him) but whether he’ll pass the concussion protocols necessary to allow his participation.
As of early evening Thursday, reports suggested the MVP candidate won’t be available for Game 3. That’s a major concern for the Sixers who are now in a hole and need to win four of the next five games to win the semi-final series.
James Harden’s shooting struggles continued with him scoring 20 points on 6 of 15 in Game 2 along with nine assists. Rising star Tyrese Maxey provided the offensive lift for Philly scoring 34 points.
Tobias Harris has been the most consistent 76er offering another solid outing in Game 2 with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Miami is 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games.
- Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami’s last 7 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 7 games.
- Heat are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 road games
- 76ers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 playoff games as an underdog.
Free Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers NBA Prediction:
It’s a must-win game for the 76ers and the prospect of having to accomplish that without Embiid is daunting. Philly might get some luck with a myriad of Heat players listed as questionable.
They’ll need to make some major tweaks to capture their first win in the series though. The main areas of concern are perimeter shooting and pace. In Game 1 Philly shot 6 of 34 from deep (17.6%) and in Game 2 were fractionally better shooting 8 of 30 (26.7%).
Philly won the fast break (15-8) and paint scoring (54-42) in the last match plus had the edge on points scored off turnovers (18 to 12).
But Miami was red hot from outside nailing 48.3% from deep (14 of 29) giving them an 18-point advantage and got to the line an additional nine times.
Youngsters and reserve players typically play better at home, and Philly will need them to be if they plan on getting back in this series.
I’m simply not optimistic Doc Rivers has enough buttons he can push to make enough of a difference.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Heat ATS
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