Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers 4/16/18, Prediction & Odds

Heat vs. 76ers Prediction

The Philadelphia 76ers haven't lost a game since March 13, a franchise record-setting span of 17 consecutive victories including their playoff series opener against the Miami Heat. Will the Sixers continue their amazing run tonight when they host Game 2?

Game Snapshot

701 Miami Heat vs. 702 Philadelphia 76ers

Monday, April 16, 2018

Wells Fargo Center at 8PM ET

TV: TNT

Public Betting Information

According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the 76ers are a 6.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 215.5 points. As of Monday morning, 83 percent of public bets are pouring in on host Philadelphia. Check out our NBA Public Betting Page for up-to-date information.

Huge third quarter sparks 76ers

The 76ers seemed to flummox Miami by going to small ball in Game 1, using Ersan Ilyasova  at center. That helped Philly outscore the visitors 34-18 in the third quarter and continued the stellar play in the fourth by a count of 40-25, eventually winning in a 130-103 rout. Ilyasova totaled 17 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. JJ Redick scored a team-high 28 points, while Marco Belinelli totaled 25 off the bench. Ben Simmons was close to a triple-double with 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds in his first career playoff game. Dario Saric added 20 points, six boards and three assists as Philly received contributions from a number of players which has been a staple of their rise in the Eastern Conference despite Joel Embiid being sidelined with a broken orbital bone.

Heat need more from starters

Only 43 of Miami's 103 points in Game 1 were scored by its starters. Only point guard Goran Dragic played more than 30 minutes and he scored 15 points, but only shot 4-of-14 from the field. Taking away a 5-of-9 shooting performance from James Johnson, the other four Heat starters shot a combined 8-of-31. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra turned to the bench for much of the second half once the game began to slip away and while the reserves played better than the starters, it didn't change much on the scoreboard. Kelly Olynyk scored a team-best 26 points to go with seven rebounds off the bench. If Miami doesn't get a lot more production from its starting five in Game 2, a similar result could be in store.

NBA Betting Trends

Miami

The Heat are 1-4 ATS in their last five games in Philadelphia. The under is 5-0 in the last five Miami games against teams with a winning percentage over .600. The under is 5-1 in the last six Sixers conference quarterfinals games.

Philadelphia

The over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings in Philadelphia. The under is 3-0-1 in the last four Sixers games on Monday. Philadelphia is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games after a straight up win by 10 or more points.

Prediction: 

It is difficult to justify betting against the Sixers these days. A spread of -6.5 is reasonable and this has the look of a team not only playing with supreme confidence, but also one very motivated to keep this winning streak going as long as possible. I'm not sure how Miami manages to keep up with Philly in this environment on the road. Even if the Sixers go small even earlier into the contest, I doubt the Heat have the answer for it.

NBA DAILY PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS -6.5

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