The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers clash in a meeting of two blue-collar teams stirred by two tactician coaches. It’s bound to be a war.
Catch the game tomorrow at 7:00 AM, Manila time.
AWAY: Miami Heat (46-36, 24-17 AWAY)
Projected starting five:
- Terry Rozier
- Tyler Herro
- Jimmy Butler
- Caleb Martin
- Bam Adebayo
The Heat are back in the play-ins for the second-straight season, and many deem the group to be a dangerous team yet again. It’s tougher than before, but they did go 7-3 in their last 10 games, and averaged 116.1 points per game with a +12.5 point differential.
Jimmy Butler (20.8 PPG) and Bam Adebayo (19.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.9 APG) will continue anchoring the defense, while Tyler Herro (20.8 PPG) remains as the number two guy on offense behind Butler. All three averaged 20-plus on the Sixers this season – do note that Jimmy has only appeared in one game vs. PHI, though, and it was a loss.
Nevertheless, Miami is pretty random beyond the trio. Recent acquisition Terry Rozier (16.4 PPG) can go on a heater at any point, same with sharpshooters Duncan Robinson and Patty Mills, athletic wing Caleb Martin, sensational rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., and even elder statesman Kevin Love.
Miami is top 5 in both points allowed and defensive rating for the regular season.
HOME: Philadelphia 76ers (47-35, 25-16 HOME)
Projected starting five:
- Kyle Lowry
- Tyrese Maxey
- Tobias Harris / Kelly Oubre
- Nic Batum
- Joel Embiid
The Sixers bookended their 2023-24 regular season hot. They are on an eight-game winning streak with an average winning margin of 13.3 points. Even better, Joel Embiid is now on his third week back, albeit still slightly nursing that ailing knee.
Embiid put up 34.7 points per game in the regular season. His lone meeting with the Heat this season was last April 5th, where he scored 29 and led Philly to a 109-105 victory. Number two scorer Tyrese Maxey (25.9 PPG) led the way with a game-high 37 points and 11 assists. These two are sure to provide a lot of damage on Thursday, and will be in an interesting matchup vs. the stingy Heat defense.
Tobias Harris (17.2 PPG), Kelly Oubre Jr. (15.4 PPG), and Buddy Hield (12.2 PPG) form the trio of wings who’s likely to be the third scorer. Harris had 27-7-6 on 55.6% shooting in his lone game vs. MIA this season, so there’s a good amount of confidence there. Veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, meanwhile, will be an interesting watch as he is going against his former Heat team who chose to waive him last February to make room for others.
PICKS:
Spread: Sixers (-4.5)
Over/Under: Under (207)
