The Miami Heat have a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers. But will they be able to conquer James Harden and company on the road this Saturday?
Catch this game live on Saturday, May 7, at 7 AM, Manila time
Away: Miami Heat (2-0/0-0 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Gabe Vincent
- SG: Max Strus
- SF: Jimmy Butler
- PF: P.J. Tucker
- C: Bam Adebayo
It’s been smooth sailing so far for the Heat in the second round. They are just dismantling Philadelphia and taking advantage of the Joel Embiid-less Sixers, taking Game 2 via a 119-103 score at home. Bam Adebayo shined in both games of the series thus far, which makes a lot of sense because DeAndre Jordan is nothing more than just a cardboard cutout at this point of his career.
Expect Adebayo to continue carving up Philadelphia as long as Embiid is sidelined. So far in the series, Adebayo is leading the Heat with 23.5 points on an incredible 71.4 FG%. Meanwhile, Tyler Herro is putting up some serious work as well. In Game 2, he fired 18 points off the bench and is now averaging 21.5 points on 55.6 FG% in the second round.
Playing on the road for the first time in the series will be a bigger challenge for the Heat, but they are also 11-3-1 against the spread in their last 15 games as the road team.
Home: Philadelphia 76ers (0-2/0-0 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Tyrese Maxey
- SG: James Harden
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid (doubtful)
The big question for the Sixers in Game 3 is whether Embiid will be out there on the floor to help his team try to prevent them from falling down a 0-3 series hole. The Sixers’ need for Embiid can’t be understated, so it’s very possible that Philly will let him loose on Saturday in a virtually must-win contest for the team. If he can’t go, the Sixers will have to hope that James Harden breaks out of his slump.
Harden is averaging just 18.0 points on 39.3 FG% and is only attempting 5.5 free throws per game in the series. That won’t cut it for a desperate Sixers team that is currently being led by a young gun in Tyrese Maxey in terms of scoring. The former Kentucky Wildcats star is scoring 26.5 points against the Heat. Another area where the Sixers are looking to improve on is their outside shooting. Through two games, the Sixers have made just 21.9 3FG%.
The total has hit the Under in all of Philly’s last four games as the favorite.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Sixers cover (+3).
Over/Under: There will be a much better production from the Sixers’ offense this time around, while the Heat score just enough for an Over (210.5) hit.
