Two teams good enough to reach the Eastern Conference Finals meet in the first East play-in tournament game on Wednesday night as No. 8 seed Miami visits No. 7 Philadelphia, with the winner as the East’s No. 7 and opening the first round of the playoffs against No. 2 New York.
These teams split the four regular-season meetings, with the Heat winning the first two and the Sixers the last two. They met last on April 4 in Miami and Philly prevailed 109-105. Philadelphia ends the game on a 15-3 run. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 37 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists while aided by Embiid (29 points, four rebounds) and Kelly Oubre (18 points, eight rebounds) in the victory. Terry Rozier finished with 22 points, with Jimmy Butler adding 20 points and five assists for Miami in the losing effort.
The loser of this game will still get at least one more chance to advance, as it would host on Friday the winner of Wednesday’s later matchup between No. 10 Atlanta and No. 9 Chicago for the East’s No. 8 seed and the right to face NBA title favorite Boston in Round 1 of the playoffs. Either the Heat or Sixers could beat the No. 2 Knicks in the first round, but they aren’t beating the Celtics. That’s what makes winning so important.
Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament Game Info
When: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, 7:00 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
TV: ESPN, ESPN2
Radio: WAXY 790 AM (Heat) // 97.5 The Fanatic FM (76ers)
Stream: NBA League Pass
NBA Odds: Heat (+4.5) // 76ers (-4.5)
Why bet on the Miami Heat?
Miami played in the East play-in tournament for the first time last season. It was the No. 7 seed and upset at home by No. 8 Atlanta but then beat Chicago to advance as the No. 8. The Heat would then get all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to Denver.
Miami has three injury concerns in guards Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson and big man Kevin Love. The latter two both missed multiple games to close the regular season, and Love left Sunday’s finale against Toronto with a contusion. How important is Robinson? Miami was 11-0 this season when he scored at least 20 points. Due to injury and the like, Miami started 35 different lineups this season, the most during a single-season in team history. Additionally, 18 different players started at least one game this season, tying the second-most during a single-season in franchise history.
Read more→
https://nitrobetting.eu/news/heat-vs-76ers-2024-nba-play-in-tournament-odds/