On Wednesday, April 17th, the No. 8 Miami Heat will take on the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers in the Play-In Tournament. The winner of this game will be the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and face the No. 2 New York Knicks in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. With that in mind, keep reading for our preview of the game, which will be played at the Wells Fargo Center at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, April 17th.
Make sure you come back to VSiN throughout the course of the NBA Playoffs. We’ll have previews of every single series, daily best bets and player props from Zach Cohen and myself, and betting trends and insights from our analytics guru Steve Makinen.
>>Download free VSiN NBA Playoffs Betting Primer
>>NBA Playoff previews and resources.
How To Watch 76ers vs. Heat
Where: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA
When: 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, April 17th
Channel: ESPN
76ers vs. Heat Prediction
There is not a hotter team heading into the postseason than Philadelphia. The 76ers are on a 10-1 ATS run over their last 11 games. In the contests with Embiid on the floor they are 6-0 SU and ATS, and through the last 17 contests they are 11-5 SU/13-2-1 ATS. There are many who believe the Heat to be dangerous due to their run in the postseason last year, but the real danger might just reside in Philadelphia.
Embiid’s presence is obviously the biggest factor in this matchup. With him on the floor, the 76ers have outscored opponents by 9.0 points every 100 possessions. Their most used lineup has a staggering +33.3 net rating when on the floor. De’Anthony Melton is part of that group and his status is in question for this contest, but Philadelphia is dangerous here nonetheless.
Tyrese Maxey absolutely cooked Miami in the regular season series. He averaged 27.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. In the final meeting in South Beach, the Heat had no answer for him or Embiid, as the duo combined to score 68 points on 26-of-40 shooting. Miami tried multiple defenses – including their usually effective zone defense – to no avail. That will likely be the case on Wednesday night.
The Heat are resting on the laurels of a run to the NBA Finals a season ago. They have shown no continuity this season, and their offense is abysmal. Miami’s most used lineup – and likely starting group on Wednesday – has a -5.8 net rating and averages only 109.4 points per 100 possessions when on the floor.
The betting market briefly flashed to Philadelphia -4 but that was snapped back up. Those who shape the market will likely be on the 76ers here. There has been no indication that Miami is worth backing, or that only 1.5 points separate these two teams on a neutral court.
Play: 76ers (-4.5)
NBA Links
