Heat – 76ers

Heat Sixers Game 3 prediction

With the score tied at 1-1, the series between the Heat and the Sixers will move to Miami on Thursday night, and each team will try to get ahead by winning Game 3.

The Heat (44-38, 26-15 home in the regular season) were written down by most experts ahead of this series, but proved in the two games in Philadelphia that they have a very good chance to pull off an upset. Miami is a solid, experienced team, had a solid regular season, and is coming after a great win in Game 2 in Philadelphia. The Heat have been very good at home all season and will hope that having home court advantage will help them go 2-1 up after this Game 3.

The Sixers (52-30, 22-19 away in the regular season) were riding a 17 game winning streak until losing Game 2 at home. Previously, they beat Miami comfortably in Game 1, mainly due to having an incredible night shooting the ball, going 65% from three point line. When that didn`t happen in Game 2, they struggled. Philly played the first two games without their superstar Joel Embiid and will hope to have him back for Game 3, but it`s unclear if that will happen.

Bet on Heat v Sixers and get your 100% (100 Eur) welcome bonus at Ohmbet now!

Team news: The Heat have Waiters out for the season, but are fully healthy otherwise. The Sixers are sweating over the fitness of Joel Embiid, who is listed as doubtful. He will probably be a game time decision, but at this moment there are more chances for him not to play than to play.

Having Embiid would definitely be huge for the Sixers, but even if he plays, they do not deserve to be favorites on the road against a strong Miami outfit – especially as Embiid will probably be limited in minutes even if he will be on the court.

If Embiid won`t play odds will shift and Miami will become the favorites according to the odds, and them losing at home in those circumstances would be a real surprise. A timely stake on Miami would become a real value bet. But even with Embiid, the Heat should have enough to win this.

Miami is underrated in this series and proved it in Game 2, when they were the better team on the road and pulled off a 10 point win. Even in Game 1 they were very competitive for more than half of the game, until Philadelphia went bonkers from three, shooting 65% from deep, a percentage which is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.

All in all these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and home court advantage should get the Heat over the line – particularly if Embiid doesn`t play or is limited in minutes.

My tip here will be Miami to cover the +2 point asian handicap. The point spread might seem low and irrelevant, but it actually provides a good safety net, as these two teams have played some really close matches between them this season (two out of six meetings were decided by 2 points or less). Prediction: Miami Heat – Philadelphia 76ers 108 – 102.

Pick: Heat +2
Odds: 1.91 @ Jetbull
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.28
Event date: 19 April

About Rostick

Born in '88. Running betting tips websites since 2007. Launched Betdistrict in 2013. Worked as a bookie for a year to spy on the other side. Rugby Union and NBA expert. Editor info & statistics.

4 comments

  1. I really don’t think you have watched the Sixers if you think Miami deserves to be favored. The talent across the board between the two isn’t that close..

    • I know that is the general consensus but It s not just about the individual talent of the players. Heat are a good team. Game 4 will be huge for this series.

  2. Wade may take over game 4 again. But he can’t do it 3-4 times which is the only way Miami wins the series. I’ll give him one more out of respect.. Sixers in 6 (should be 5 based on talent)

    • Yea I definitely agree he can`t have big games on a consistent basis at his age. But there`s also Dragic playing well, and chances are the Sixers will have an off game from three … because they shot unrealistic percentages in Game 1 and Game 3.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *