Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat betting tips and predictions for Monday’s NBA game on NBA TV. It’s the first meeting between the Sixers and Heat since their epic Eastern Conference semi-final series last season. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers suffered a heartbreaking home loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics over the weekend 110-107 in what was one of their biggest games of the season. A last second heave by Joel Embiid went in, but it was ruled too late and Philly fell for just the 9th time at home this season. The Philly big man will fell good about his performance though, he finished with 41 points and 12 rebounds, leading all scorers by a long shot.
James Harden chipped in 21 and 8 assists, but he didn’t have the best of shooting nights knocking down just 5 of 16 attempts from the field. Revenge will be on the mind of the Philly players here, they lost to Miami in last season’s playoffs and with 13 wins in the last 17 regular season meetings at Wells Fargo Center they have every right to hope for a win tonight.
Miami Heat
Miami ends a 4-game road trip with tonight’s game, after which they return home for the next 6 games. Not a lot has changed since the all-star break, the Heat went into it after consecutive losses and now they’ve come out of it by losing 2 games at Milwaukee and Charlotte. Things will have to improve ASAP as the Atlanta Hawks are piling on the pressure in the division standings, they’re just 1 game behind Miami at this point.
Jimmy Butler has been performing well, he will be extra motivated to face the team that opted not to sign him and instead went with Tobias Harris. Butler had the last laugh though as he made the Finals with the Heat a couple of years ago, while Philadelphia is still waiting on their moment to shine. Miami is also 4-2 ATS/SU in their last 6 head-to-head vs the Sixers.
Kyle Lowry might be back in the line-up for this one, as he faces the team from the city where he grew up in. The addition of him, plus a motivated Butler give the Heat a good chance here. I have the visitors covering the spread against the inconsistent 76ers.
Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat Predictions & Odds
These are two of the slowest teams in the NBA this season ranking just 26th and 27th in the NBA in possessions per game. That alone should keep the total of this game down, it’s no wonder that the projected total is at 216.5 points. The two teams have gone just 3-7 on the O/U in their last 10 meetings, with an average of just 202 points per game scored between them. Miami has had just 13 of 32 games road games go over the total this season, and in their last 5 of 6 played on a Monday away from home they are just 1-5 on the O/U.
These two teams are also in the top 5 when it comes to defensive efficiency allowing just 108.8 and 109.2 points per 100 possessions respectively. With Miami still adjusting to life with Kevin Love as a starter and the Sixers going under in their last 6 of 8 games vs Eastern Conference opponents, I think we’re in for a lower scoring game here so let’s back the under.
