NBA 2021/22 on Tuesday, 03/22/2022
It’s the top duel of the Eastern Conference, where the first meets the second. Namely, the Philadelphia Sixers host the Miami Heat tonight and would like to issue a little warning with regard to the approaching playoffs!
By the way, both opponents are extremely good at defending their own perimeter. And even if James Harden is involved this time, I still expect a low-scoring game in my 76ers Heat tip.
The Miami Heat have lost only three of their last thirteen NBA games – and only against big caliber teams like the Bucks, Suns and the up-and-coming Timberwolves. One triumph in particular stands out, by the way.
It was an impressive 99-82 win as guests of their upcoming opponents. Only three weeks after the Sixers defeat with the fewest points in the new basketball year, Miami now travels again to the Wells Fargo Center to repeat this success if possible.
However, I expect Philadelphia to put on a much more convincing performance this time. After all, in the last showdown with the Heat, The Beard dropped the only game since joining the 76ers.
We can’t forget that since James Harden was traded to the Sixers, the teamwork with Joel Embiid has been so good that they lost only two of the last ten NBA games in which they were on the floor together.
In addition, Philadelphia has just celebrated a 111-101 home win against the strong Mavs, in which the duo Harden/Embiid scored 66 points. Before that, by the way, it was the Nuggets who had to give in the night before.
This quickly shows that the 76ers can currently hold their own at the highest level against potential title contenders. The Heat, on the other hand, have had a more relaxed program of late.
The Floridians, for example, recently managed victories over the game-weak Pistons (105:98) and the massively replacement-weakened Thunder (120:108). Accordingly, the necessary “tension” might be missing at the moment to stand up to the battle-tested 76ers.
Nevertheless, the best team in the Eastern Conference has an outstanding defense! While James Harden poses a real challenge, Thybulle and Harris already kept the seventy-sixers in check the last time they met.
While I’m not ruling out the Sixers successfully returning the favor, in the context of a basketball bet, I’m always concerned with favoring the most promising 76ers Heat tip – and in this case, that’s a low-scoring game.
Besides the fact that the Heat possess a stout defense, it is also disciplined enough to not allow the home side to shoot any unnecessary free throws: An average of only 19.7 personal fouls during the last ten games.
This is especially important because, according to official NBA statistics during the same period, no NBA franchise league-wide has been as ice-cold from the line as the Phillies! Indeed, with an 85.8% scoring rate, Embiid & Co are the calmest in person.
The prospect of a low-scoring game is, by the way, also confirmed by the head-to-head comparison, as none of the last four showdowns between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat produced a final score of more than 210 total points.
Looking at the 76ers Heat odds currently being called on the betting markets, it can be noted that the leading bookmakers consider a success of the guests to be slightly more likely.
Accordingly, basketball nerds as well as betting enthusiasts can count on about 1.83 for a triumph of the table leader. A successful revenge of the Sixers, on the other hand, is currently traded at 2.07 across providers.
Summary: The Heat defense rendered the Sixers harmless just three weeks ago. However, we have to take into account that newcomer James Harden wasn’t involved then and will be a significant offensive upgrade on the home side tonight.
Nevertheless, the visitors possess an outstanding defense, and even though I slightly favor the 76ers based on their recent wins over Mavs and Nuggets, this won’t be a walk in the park for them.
Miami doesn’t commit any unnecessary fouls and is able to match Embiid on the boards. A low-scoring game seems to be the most likely outcome, as has been the case in the last four meetings.
My 76ers Heat tip : A sub 221 point game!
