Philadelphia at Miami
Time: 1:30 PM CT (TNT)
Spread: PHI -3.5
Total: 213
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Philadelphia 76ers lead the best of seven 2-1 and enter Game 4 as 3.5-point favorites according to NBA Oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes. Philly won Game 2 by a count of 128-108, running away with a game that was close for three quarters. The Sixers now have a masked Joel Embiid back in the fold and seem to be on the verge of making a poised and deep run into the 2018 playoffs. First, it must close out the Miami Heat in Miami, which is no small task.
Embiid was splendid in his career playoff debut. While wearing a cumbersome “Phantom of the Opera” type mask, Embiid had 23 points on 5 of 11 shooting while hitting three three-pointers and grabbing seven rebounds, dishing four assists and coming up with three blocked shots. Embiid played 30 minutes and early in the game he seemed bothered by the mask, but he more than certainly adjusted and adapted to wearing it as the game wore on.
Likely 2018 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists while posting a team-best plus-minus of +24 for his 40 minutes of play. All Sixers starters scored in double-figures in the game, and Marco Belinelli added another 21 points off the bench while hitting 7 of 13 from the field and dishing five assists.
Markelle Fultz was again a non-factor, seeing just four minutes of play, but one would assume as he continues to get healthier and get more practices under his belt, that he matters in the later rounds of this postseason. That is to say, the No. 1 overall pick looms as Philly’s major X-factor, even while all the knowns are producing. This is a dangerous Sixers team.
Miami point guard Goran Dragic had 23 points and eight assists, but the Heat was outscored 32-14 in the final quarter and that was really the difference in this game. The Heat entered the fourth quarter down by just two, but the Sixers fully dominated the stretch run of the game. Justise Winslow even did a decent job on Simmons defensively at the 1-spot, but the Sixers just have too much firepower with Embiid back in the lineup, most especially with a lagging and ineffective Hassan Whiteside.
Whiteside has looked lethargic on the court, walking to set screens, picking up silly fouls, and looking utterly disinterested at times. He played 13 minutes and saw just one field goal attempt while grabbing only two rebounds. It is hard not to say Whiteside’s lethargy is the reason the Heat finds itself behind 1-2 in this series, but the Sixers closed the season with 15-straight wins and were primed to make this series easy.
Expect Philly to prevail as favored and close the series out in five when it returns to the City of Brotherly Love next week.
ATS TRENDS
| Philadelphia | |
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| Miami | |
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