Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat Betting Preview/Prop Picks

Game 2 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat will be underway tonight. Game 1 didn’t turn out in favor of the 76ers as they struggled to work as a team.

Tonight, they’ll try to get it right and steal a game from the Heat. They come in as heavy underdogs here, but will also be without Joel Embiid again. With Embiid out, can the 76ers pull off a road win against the Heat?

The Miami Heat will look to continue their dominance over the 76ers. In Game 1, they beat the 76ers 106-92, a fourteen-point margin. The Heat have multiple players on their injury list, but they’re all listed as “day-to-day.”

None of these players have been officially ruled out for this contest, so keep that in mind. Let’s go over both teams and make our pick for tonight’s game.

Philadelphia 76ers: No Embiid equals a lot of problems

The 76ers are struggling to keep their heads above water at the moment. James Harden hasn’t really kicked it into gear during the playoffs yet. With Embiid out, it will be between Harden and Tyrese Maxey to lead this team to victory.

Sure, they’re returning home after Game 2, but they’d like to at least win one on the road. If not, Miami will jump out to a 2-0 lead going into Game 3.

Philadelphia usually excels when it comes to offense, averaging 110.05 points per game. Although it was during the regular season, we expected a lot of offense from them.

The problem is they’re facing one of the best defenses in the league without their best player. Embiid being sidelined means Miami can hyperfocus on James Harden. This puts the 76ers in a bad spot.

Miami Heat: A strong mix of defense and offense is key

Although the Heat plays incredible defense, they showed some offensive prowess as well. Leading the Heat in Game 1 was Tyler Herro, who put up 25 points and shot nine for 17.

Herro has emerged as one of the better scorers for the Miami Heat. The best part about Miami is their willingness to move the ball around. On any night, any player can lead the team in scoring.

Of course, where they win games is on defense. Miami ranked third through the regular season allowing just 105.10 points per game. Tonight, they’ll continue to set the weight of this game on their defensive shoulders.

They’ll also need to cover quite a large spread, which was no problem for them in Game 1. So, between these two, who’s the best pick for tonight’s game?

Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat Betting Pick

Although each of these teams has its strengths, the 76ers have an outstanding weakness. Without Embiid, the interior presence for the 76ers is gone.

They also lose the ability to stretch the defense of the Miami Heat. Because of this, we’ll take the Miami Heat to cover the 8.5-point spread tonight. 

When betting on the total, it’s important to keep the Heat’s defense in mind. You should also consider the Heat only average 109.99 points per game. With the total set at 208, we’ll take the under in this one.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Miami Heat -8.5, UNDER

Prop Picks

Philadelphia (-120) UNDER 99.5 Points

Miami is allowing 105.6 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 4 in the league, while holding teams to 33.9 percent shooting from 3-point range, which ranks No. 2. Scores have gone UNDER in five of Miami’s last six games versus Philadelphia.

With Dunkel predicting a Miami victory by the score of 108-94, take the Sixers (-120) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 99.5 points against the Heat.

Tobias Harris (-110) UNDER 19.5 Points

Harris averaged 17.2 points per game during the regular season, which ranked No. 4 on the Sixers. That average decreased to 16.9 points per game on the road and 16.5 points per game in Philadelphia losses.

With Dunkel predicting a Sixers road loss while staying UNDER their team point total, take Harris (-110) to finish UNDER his Vegas point total of 19.5 points against the Heat.

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