The Sixers fell heartbreakingly short of a win over the Boston Celtics this past weekend and now play host to an old friend in Jimmy Butler. The Miami Heat are coming to town for a matchup on Monday that will see the seventh-place Heat looking to upset the third-place Sixers.
Heat vs Sixers game info
Who: Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
When: Monday February 27th, 7pm EST
How to watch: TNT/NBA TV
Heat vs Sixers betting info
Spread: Sixers -6.5 | Heat +6.5
Moneyline: Sixers -250 | Heat +210
The Sixers roll into this game after a nail-biting defeat to the Celtics. A full-court 3-point shot was thrown milliseconds after the buzzer sounded, giving the Celtics a clutch win after Jayson Tatum hit a 3-point shot of his own just seconds before.
The Heat are struggling as of late, having lost each of their last 4 games. Although 3 of those games were against playoff teams, a disappointing loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday didn’t sit too well with Jimmy Butler.
The former Sixer has been the heart and soul of the Heat this season, while Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo often tend to breakout or have a very quiet night at the office. The Heat remains two games back from a playoff berth and they need to find a way to break the slump quickly. They will need more from their role players if that is to happen on Monday.
What’s interesting is that the Heat has won 6 of the past 10 head-to-head matchups against the Sixers, who are averaging 6 points per game more than the traveling team.
Joel Embiid was his dominant self on Saturday and will need to be again on Monday night. He’s averaging 33 points per game this season and was clinical from the free-throw line against Boston, sinking 17-18 free-throw attempts.
The Sixers are the better team here and go into this matchup knowing that the playoff implications are getting heavier by the day. With the bench beginning to find its footing as Doc Rivers rotates the unit, Philly will be hoping to stifle what is a very dynamic offense, built in a similar structure to that of their own. The differences lie in an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid, and a much stronger bench.
Heat vs 76ers Prediction
There is a sense of desperation stemming from the Miami Heat camp as the playoffs draw nearer. This is a must-win for them, while the Sixers are looking to make a statement after taking the pride of the Eastern Conference to the wire.
The Sixers should comfortably cover the 6.5 spread if they’re firing on all cylinders. The Heat do have three players averaging more than 20 points per game, but rank 29th in second-chance points. If they cannot get hot in an environment that sees the home team win most of the time, then the Sixers should be able to manage the tempo of this game and utilize the likes of P.J Tucker to keep the Heat cold.
Pick: Sixers -6.5
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AP Photo/Matt Slocum
