Free NBA Pick: 76ers vs. Heat NBA Odds
Looking for Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the 76ers taking on the Heat on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at FTX Arena. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this 76ers Heat matchup.
2022 NBA Playoffs Handicapping Round 2
(0-1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat (1-0)
Date: Wednesday, May 4
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Venue: FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
NBA Moneyline Odds: 76ers +345 | Heat -361 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Heat -8
NBA Betting Total: 207.5
Game two of the Eastern Conference semi-finals between the fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and top-seeded Miami Heat tips off on Wednesday, May 4. Miami took the early series lead with a 106-92 victory in Game 1.
The teams split the 2021-22 season series 2-2 with the 76ers winning on January 15th (109-98) and March 21st (113-106) while the Heat won on December 15th (101-96) and March 5th (99-82).
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.
Philadelphia 76ers
For a small window in the second quarter it looked like the 76ers might be able to hang tough and steal Game 1, even entering the half up a point and expanding upon that at the start of the third.
Much of the reason behind that success was the Sixers on hand played to their maximum potential, including James Harden who was aggressive offensively.
But as the game wore on Harden like the rest of his cohorts settled for jump shots and of course the Heat flipped a switch. The one 76ers player Miami wasn’t able to stop was Tobias Harris who offered 27 points on 11 of 18 and probably should’ve had more touches.
It seemed Erik Spoelstra was feeling out Doc Rivers and then made his halftime tweaks and the rest was history. Doc Rivers found initial success using the zone but relied far too much on it and as noted coach Spo dismantled it in the second half.
Notably, there are glaring issue with the Sixers reserve unit. Miami can literally run the offense to directly target Georges Niang or Shake Milton knowing it’s pretty much a guaranteed bucket.
Rivers has to rethink using DeAndre Jordan any length of time as he clearly looks washed. The problem is Paul Reed might be the better bet but he’s a foul magnet (five fouls in 13 minutes).
Eventually, I’d expect Spo to emulate what Nick Nurse did by attacking James Harden with the younger athletic Heat players who can easily drive past him, and because Joel Embiid is out force Harden to play on both ends to tire him out.
Tyrese Maxey (19) and James Harden (16) were the only other double-figure scorers but they combined to shoot 11 of 28!
Charles Bassey (shoulder) is questionable for Wednesday while Joel Embiid (concussion/ orbital fracture) is out with no definitive timeline for return.
Miami Heat
The takeaway from Game 1 was the Heat looked very much like a team who hadn’t played in six days or in the case of Jimmy Butler more than a week.
Butler sat out Game 5 versus the Hawks due to a sore knee and his 5 of 16 for 15 points reflected that rust although he added nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Tyler Herro fared much better shooting 9 of 16 for 25 points which were more than the entire 76ers reserve unit although he was shaking off the rust from inactivity due to a respiratory infection.
During the pivotal third quarter, the Heat found their rhythm and in the blink of an eye were up by 21 points. Bam Adebayo registered a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds providing evidence Philly has NO ONE who can stop him.
Kyle Lowry (hamstring) wanted to play but Miami is exercising caution. His presence will have a dramatic impact on the pace and flow of the Heat offense which should translate into an increase in fast-break scoring and an uptick in wide-open 3-point opportunities.
Lowry is a Philly native and those who witnessed his Raptors tenure know some of his very best games occurred versus his hometown team so I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t play Wednesday just get his legs and timing back.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Philadelphia is 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games against Miami.
- Miami is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami’s last 6 games.
- 76ers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as a road underdog.
- Heat are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite.
Free Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat NBA Prediction:
The most obvious sign the Heat were shaking off the rust was their perimeter shooting where they hit only 9 of 36 (25%) while Philly was even worse shooting 17.6 percent (6 of 34).
Miami possessed the top-rated 3-point efficiency and second-best perimeter defense throughout the season. The scary part for the 76ers is other than that brief third quarter outburst the Heat didn’t look remotely like themselves.
Again, Lowry is only going to make them better (on both ends) and Spoelstra didn’t even use Duncan Robinson who he could tap if Doc elects to use the zone again to drop a slew of 3-pointers.
Spoelstra is also a coach who is known for his tweaks between games (and within games), so unless the referees put their imprint on the match I have a feeling Game 2 could be over quickly.
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