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Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 8:00 pm EST on TNT
Pointspread: Miami -4.5
Money Line: Heat -220 / 76ers +180
Over/Under: 187
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The Miami Heat will look to put a 3-0 stranglehold on the Philadelphia 76ers as their first round, best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff matchup shifts to the Wells Fargo Center for Game 4. Thursday night’s game is scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally of TNT.
Miami had a bit of a fight on its hands in Game 1 last Saturday in a 97-89 victory as a 10 ½-point home favorite. Monday night’s game was never really close as the Heat cruised to a 94-73 win as a nine-point home favorite. It was their ninth straight-up win over Philadelphia including a three-game sweep in this year’s regular season. The total stayed ‘under’ an identical 190 line in both of these games.
Chris Bosh was the hero in Saturday’s game with 25 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron James added 21 points and 14 rebounds while Dwyane Wade scored 17 points in the winning effort. Monday night’s romp was James’s turn to shine with a game-high 29 points. Bosh scored 21 points and led the way in rebounds with 11 and Wade added 14 points and six rebounds for South Beach’s Big Three.
Miami shot just 41.9 percent from the floor and a dreadful 23.5 percent from three-point range in Game 1. The Heat improved their shooting to 47.2 percent from the floor on Monday night, but still struggled from beyond the arc; hitting just three of their 15 attempts. They have dominated the Sixers under the boards with a 98-79 advantage in rebounds.
Philadelphia has to hope that a change in scenery will change its fortunes in this series. After staging a valiant comeback attempt in Game 1 that had them trailing by just one point late in the fourth, the 76ers had their doors blown off in Game 2, falling behind by 18 points at the half. The lead grew to 23 after three quarters as they had no answer for the Heats’ relentless offensive attack.
Thaddeus Young came off the bench to lead Philadelphia with 20 points in the first game and led the team with 18 points in the second, but that has basically been it for the Sixers’ highlight reel. Their two leading scorers in the regular season; Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala combined for just eight points in Monday’s rout.
Philadelphia shot 41.2 percent from the field in Game 1, but this dropped to a woeful 34.2 percent in the second game. These are both far below its 46.1 percent season average. The 76ers are 13-for-33 from three-point range which is actually a bit better than their 35.5 percent season average, but they have to do a much better job scoring in the paint to have any chance against the Heat.
Miami is 5-0 ATS in its last five games on the road and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last nine games.
Philadelphia is 2-4 ATS in its last six home games and 2-6 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 10 of its last 11 games.
Head-to-head, the Heat are 9-0 SU in the last nine games, but just 4-5 against the spread. The total has stayed ‘under’ in four of the last five meetings.
The odds makers have the Miami Heat as a -4.5 point favorite with an over/under of 187.
Check out the latest NBA Basketball Playoff Odds here.
Prediction: Thursday’s game will most likely be the 76ers best shot at an outright win in this series, so stick with them to, at the very least, cover with the 4 ½ points.
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Philadelphia 76ers Betting Trends:
Philadelphia is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games
Philadelphia is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games
Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Miami Heat Betting Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami’s last 5 games
Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami’s last 7 games on the road
Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers 2011 Playoff Schedule
Game 4: Sun. April 24: Miami @ Philadelphia – 1:00 pm EST on ABC
Game 5: Wed. April 27: Philadelphia @ Miami – TBD
*Game 6: Fri. April 29: Miami @ Philadelphia – TBD
*Game 7: Sun. May 01: Philadelphia @ Miami – TBD
* If necessary
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