A day off ahead of the Heat at 76ers Game 3 betting matchup hasn’t been enough for Philadelphia to get Joel Embiid back in the lineup, as he’s officially been ruled out for Friday night’s contest. That’s not ideal news for the Sixers, who are in an 0-2 hole after two double digit losses in Miami.
The Heat are in a potentially good spot moving forward, with a great chance to get the sweep and rest up while Milwaukee and Boston look to battle out a long series prior to the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami has a bevy of players battling through injuries right now and some downtime wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The Heat are -2 point road favorites in this tilt.
Heat Have Been Dominant
The -2 point spread seems on the low side considering the Heat have collected a 106-92 and a 119-103 win this series covering the -7.5 and -8 lines respectively. Sure this series is shifting back to the Wells Fargo Center where the Sixers are 26-18 on the season, but the Heat are also 7 games above .500 in road tilts this year.
Miami has taken advantage of Embiid’s absence, with center Bam Adebayo going for 24 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1 and 23/9 on Wednesday. The Heat have a +20 rebounding advantage so far this series which doesn’t look like it will change as long as the Sixers are without their big man.
Miami has fought through a major injury of their own with Kyle Lowry being out since Game 3 of the first round with a hamstring issue. He’s been upgraded to questionable for Friday night’s tilt which would give the Heat even more depth behind Jimmy Butler (18.5 ppg this series) and Tyler Herro (21.5 ppg).
76ers Still Looking for a Step Up
There’s a big usage gap for the Sixers with Embiid and his 30.6 ppg being out so far this series, but Philadelphia hasn’t found that big play guy to step up yet in his absence. Tobias Harris did have 27 points in the series opener, and another 21 on Wednesday but it still hasn’t been enough to pick up a victory.
Tyrese Maxey was great in Game 2 with 34 points while adding 19 in the opener. He’s still got a +/- of -35 this series which isn’t working. James Harden has also failed to regain the form that made him a former MVP, averaging just 18 ppg this series. Harden has now gone 12 playoff games straight without breaking the 25-point barrier.
Free Heat at 76ers Game 3 Betting Matchup
This line almost seems like a trap at just Miami -2, as the Heat have won the first two in this series by an average margin of 15 points. Can the home crowd energy be enough to pull Philadelphia to a 2-1 deficit in this series?
74% of public betting is on the Heat in this matchup which definitely feels like a lure. What have the Sixers shown the first two games to drop this line so much – is location of the game that important? Ultimately this has to be a contrarian play because it just looks too easy.
Free Pick: Philadelphia +2
