Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat: Eastern Conference Playoff Prediction, 4–19–2018
Free NBA Spread Pick by Cecil Cohen of Sports Picks Forum
Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat
NBA: Thursday, April 19, 7:00 PM EST
Odds: Heat +2, O/U 217
Game 3 of this Eastern Conference Playoff matchup shifts to South Beach as the Miami Heat look to defend their home court vs the Sixers with the series tied 1–1. In Game 2, Dwyane Wade looked like D-Wade from ten years ago, dropping 28 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 25 minutes. Wade led his team to the much-needed win. Now the Heat looks to defend their home court and take the series lead.
On the season, the Sixers went 22–19 on the road and they had their struggles away from their home court early in the season. Now the Sixers must bounce back from their first loss in 17 games. The Sixers clearly missed Embiid in Game 2 of this series and after going 18-of-28 from three-point range in Game 1, the Sixers went 7-of-36 from beyond the arc. It doesn’t appear that Embiid will suit up for tonight’sgame so you can expect the same lineup and same game plan. However, if they go cold from 3-point range they will need to figure out a way to work the ball down low.
The biggest question we have handicapping this game is whether Dwayne Wade still has enough in the tank to match his Game 2 performance? The likely answer is no but the Heat may not need him to score 28 points if they continue to trap the Sixers into playing their game. The Heat want to play physical basketball with the Sixers to slow down the game. The Heat do not want a fast-paced basketball game like Game 1.
Miami is 3–0–1 the last 4 meetings vs Sixers in Miami
Heat are 1–4–1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win
Sixers are 5–1–1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight-up loss
Sixers are 4–1 ATS in their last 5 road games
There are a lot of variables for each team in Game 3 and you can make a case for both Miami and Philadelphia. This is a swing game and if Miami wins it could be lights out for the Sixers. The Heat have been a tough matchup for the Sixers all season and their defensive pressure really got to Philadelphia in Game 2 so expect more of the same in tonight’s game. The Heat won Game 2 because of the heroic efforts of D-Wade. I don’t think he can replicate his performance at this stage in his career and the Sixers should be more productive from the 3-point line than in Game 2. I’m going to take the bucket and back the Sixers to take Game 3 on the road.
Sixers vs Heat FREE Pick: Sixers +2
