2018 NBA Playoffs Game 2: Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers
Time: 7 PM CT (TNT)
Spread: PHI -6.5
Total: 215.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
SERIES PREVIEW AND POSITIONAL ANALYSIS
The Philadelphia 76ers closed the season strong with 15-straight wins. Let the good times roll: Philly opened its first-round matchup by continuing its hot play and stomping the Miami Heat 130-107. The Sixers are now the chic pick by many to at least make it the Conference Finals, but before we get (way) ahead of ourselves let us dive into Game 2 of its first-round series against Erik Spoelstra’s Heat.
Game 1 saw veteran 2-guard J.J. Redick emerge as the hero for the Sixers. The sharpshooter dialed up 8 of 13 from the field and 8 of 8 from the line en route to 28 points in 31 minutes, while second-year forward Dario Saric chipped in 20 points, six boards, and three assists. Do-it-all point guard Ben Simmons also had a stellar playoff debut, dishing 14 assists and scoring 17, while falling one rebound shy of another triple-double. Simmons is carrying the Sixers and getting everyone involved, while Philly anxiously awaits center Joel Embiid to be cleared for basketball activities.
Embiid is currently nursing a broken orbital bone, but he has been fitted for a mask and should be back soon. That should worry not only the Heat but the entire Eastern Conference because while Philly has been on-point without their star center, they are only all the more formidable when he suits up. The Sixers were plus.-.500 a year ago while Embiid started, and Philly only upped that a notch this season while winning 52-games.
The turnaround was historic, but Philly’s work is by far undone. Getting a preemptive championship with this young core would obviously be icing the cake as Embiid and Simmons are years away from reaching their respective primes. Not to be lost in all of this is 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz of Washington, too.
Fultz saw just 14 minutes in Game 1, but scored five points and notched four assists while posting a +12 mark for his time on the court. He remains an x-factor of sorts for Philly, because, after all, he was a first overall pick and is a franchise player in his own right. The Sixers have three of such, there is absolutely no shortage of talent.
Miami was led Game 1 by Kelly Olynyk who scored 26 points off the bench on 9 of 13 shooting, but Miami shot just 44 percent from the floor while amassing 16 turnovers and being outrebounded by eight. It will have to take better care of the basketball and hit the boards harder to have any chance against this Sixers team because Miami’s defense alone clearly is not enough while the Sixers are tallying 130 points in a postseason game.
Goran Dragic struggled mightily shooting just 4 of 14 from the floor, and every Miami starter was negative double-digits in court differentials. Miami will be lucky to win a single game in this series, and we like the Sixers to win by double-digits again as they begin what could be an exciting and historic postseason run. Simmons is already one of the best playmakers in the Association and when he gets his fellow superstar Embiid back in the fold, Philly should be ready to take on whichever draw it has in the second round.
