The Miami Heat play their last home game of the regular season, and it’ll be against the top seed in the East in the form of the Philadelphia 76ers. Who gets the win in South Beach this Friday?
Catch this game live on Friday, May 14, at 7:30 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Miami Heat (38-31, 20-15 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Kendrick Nunn
- SG: Duncan Robinson
- SF: Jimmy Butler (Depends on eye injury)
- PF: Trevor Ariza
- C: Bam Adebayo
The Heat are one of the hottest teams right now not only in the East but across the league as well. They have won all of their last three games and are 6-1 straight up in their last seven. They are coming off back-to-back wins in Beantown over the struggling Boston Celtics and heads home this Friday for their last game in South Beach before the playoffs.
Miami is 20-15 SU at home this season, though the team is only 14-9-2 against the spread when they’re at the AmericanAirlines Arena. However, the Heat have trended better of late there, as they are 4-2-1 ATS in their past seven home games. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, as usual, are expected to spearhead the Heat when they go up against the Sixers, but the former could potentially sit out this game after hurting his eye against Boston.
If Butler gets ruled out, that means more opportunity for Tyler Herro to continue his hot stretch. Herro has averaged 21.0 points on 67.6 FG% in his last three games and is still fresh off a 24-point performance in the 129-121 road win against Boston last Wednesday.
ROAD TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers (47-22, 20-1 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Ben Simmons
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid (Depends on illness recovery)
Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers got preyed upon by the Indiana Pacers in a 103-94 loss on the road last Wednesday. It’s the first loss by Philly in nine games. Embiid missed that game due to a non-COVID illness, but after some rest, he could be ready to go against the Heat this Friday.
Miami managed to contain Embiid in the last meeting between these teams, as he scored just nine points (3-8 FG), though the Sixers still came away with a 125-108 home win on Jan. 15. A couple of days before that, Embiid thrashed Miami’s defense for 45 points (16-23 FG) with 16 rebounds, four assists, and five steals during a 137-134 win.
Apart from Embiid, watch out for the Sixers’ outside shooters in this third matchup against the Heat. Philadelphia nailed a total of 36 triples on 39.1 3FG% in the last two meetings with the Heat, with Danny Green accounting for 13 threes. On the season, Philadelphia is 12-8-1 ATS in games after a loss.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread:
The incentive to win this game is bigger for the Heat than for the Sixers, as Miami is still fighting for a higher seed in the East. Take the Heat to win and cover +1.5.
Over/Under:
Miami has been on an offensive roll of late, thanks in large part to Boston’s letdown defense, but scoring could taper off a bit for the Heat against the Sixers, who are second in the league in adjusted defensive rating. Take the Under 217.5.
