Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat Free NBA Pick, 2–3–2020
Free NBA Spread Pick by Austin Clark of PrecisionPicks.com
Philadelphia 76ers (31–19) vs. Miami Heat (33–15)
Line: Heat -3, O/U 213
Game Time: Monday, February 3, 2020, 7:30 PM EST
An Eastern Conference matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat will take center stage in Miami the night after the Super Bowl. Philadelphia (9–17 Away) has not performed well on the road this season and enters Monday’s matchup losers in two-straight road games to Atlanta and Boston. The Heat (21–3 Home) are one of the NBA’s best at defending their home court but they have lost their last two home games to the Clippers and the Celtics.
Philadelphia has woefully underperformed on the road this season and in addition, they are just 20–26–4 ATS on the season. The Sixers have one of the best starting five in the NBA, when healthy, but they lack fluidity at times with Ben Simmons and Joel Embid. One aspect that has improved is their defensive intensity and points off of turnovers is a big part of their game. The Sixers are 3rd in the NBA allowing 105.4 PPG and they are 1st in defensive rebounding grabbing 41.6 per game. Philadelphia will need to play lights out on defense in Miami as they average only 105.7 points per game on the road this season.
Miami (27–19–2 ATS) comes in averaging 111.8 points per game led by Jimmy Butler (20.3 PPG) and Bam Adebayo who averages a double-double with 15.7 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game. Defensively the Heat allow 107.9 PPG but they are #1 in the NBA at 3-point defense (32.8%) and the Sixers will take their fair share of 3-point attempts. Miami is 2–1 SU vs. the Sixers this season but (1–1–1 ATS) and a total of 5 points separating these teams the last two games.
Miami has the defense to put significant pressure on Philadelphia, while also boasting an underrated offense capable of keeping them in games. The Heat’s 3-point defense will be key and forcing the Sixers to settle for low percentage shots. I have doubts whenever the Sixers hit the road and most recently, the Sixers are missing Josh Richardson. These teams have played competitively this season but the Heat has a clear advantage at home vs. the Sixers.