Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 16/04/2024, 22:54  by Joseph King | Modified on 16/04/2024 at 22:54 in NBA Predictions

The seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers take on the eighth-placed Miami Heat in the first game of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The winner of this game will enter the NBA Playoffs as the seventh seed while the loser will have a shot at the eighth seed by playing the winner of the Hawks vs Bulls matchup.

The 76ers ended the season in scorching form thanks to the return of reigning MVP Joel Embiid after the 30-year-old’s lengthy injury layoff. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, their 47-35 would see them come up just short of an automatic playoff qualification, losing out on a tiebreaker to the sixth-place Pacers. Still, the Sixers will be confident of securing their spot in the postseason as they come into Wednesday’s showdown riding an eight-game winning streak. Their most recent outing saw them defeat the Brooklyn Nets 107-86. Embiid has picked up right from where he left off and is putting up dominant numbers. This season actually sees him averaging more points than minutes played, with an average of 34.7 points per game in 33.6 minutes per contest.

Last year’s Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat find themselves in a very similar situation this time around. They finished with two more wins than last season for a final record of 46-36. Like the previous season, they will have to battle through the play-in tournament to earn their shot at a repeat trip to the NBA Finals. The Heat finished the season strongly with seven wins from their last 10 games and capped things off with a two-game winning streak. Their last appearance saw them defeat the Raptors 118-103. Miami showed their grit this season by racking up one of the best away records in the conference at 24-17. However, they face a tough challenge to stop the runaway train that is the 76ers at the moment with arguably the best player in basketball.