Heat vs. Sixers: Prediction, odds, where to watch tonight
The Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat each have three games remaining in the NBA season and will be facing off tonight as some jockeying for playoff seedings continues.
The Sixers have locked up the third seed in the Eastern Conference and are awaiting their opponent. The Heat sit in the seventh seed in the East. However, they are just a game-and-a-half behind the Brooklyn Nets for the sixth seed.
If the Sixers win Thursday night's game, it will solidify a Sixers vs. Nets first-round playoff series. However, if the Heat win, the door remains open for the Sixers and Heat to play a seven-game series in the opening round.
In tonight's matchup, the Sixers are three-point favorites. Meanwhile, the Heat are listed as +130 underdogs on the moneyline. The matchup will take place in Philadelphia for the final Sixers home game with the over/under set at 220.
The game can be seen on TNT and NBC Philadelphia. It will be tipping off at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Sixers vs Heat injury report lists Tyrese Maxey, P.J. Tucker and De’Anthony Melton as questionable.
For Miami, Nikola Jovic is out and Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry are listed as questionable. https://t.co/46XQ9GdKx8
Heat vs. Sixers prediction
The Heat (42-37) are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are beginning to reach playoff form. They have underwhelmed on the season, ranking 30th in scoring average at 109.1 but are holding opponents to the second-fewest points per game at 109.8.
The trio of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro combine for 63.9 ppg, but as a team, the Heat ranks 27th in 3-point percentage.
The Sixers (52-27) have gone just 5-5 in their last 10 games and lost some momentum from earlier in the year. However, they are coming off an impressive 103-101 victory over the Celtics in which Joel Embiid scored 52 points to cement his MVP resume.
On the season, the Sixers are allowing the third-fewest ppg at 110.5, while scoring the 14th-most points per game at 114.9. They are the NBA's best 3-point shooting team at 38.7%, and the trio of Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey account for 74.7 ppg.
These teams have faced off twice already this season, with each team coming out on top once.
Expect the Sixers to come out a little flat, following the huge Celtics game that they last played. However, the talent gap is too significant, so count on Philadelphia to find a way to get a win. The Heat will struggle greatly to match up with Embiid, and the Sixers could be looking to finalize not playing Miami in the playoffs.