76ers vs Heat Prediction, Odds & Tips 17/04/24

The Philadelphia 76ers host the Miami Heat on April 17th, fighting for their spot in the NBA playoffs. Luckily for 76ers fans, it does look like Joel Embiid will play against the gritty Heat, but even with him playing, it’ll be quite hard to take home the dub.

Nonetheless, with Embiid back in the lineup, Tyrese Maxey should have a huge burden taken off his shoulders, as he’ll have another major scoring option available. It’s always easier to score when the opposing defence has to keep a mental note of somebody like Embiid.

The Heat, on the other hand, have continued to sit right around the middle of the pack. With no real star outside of Jimmy Butler able to carry the team on their back, it; ‘ll be tough for the roster should they run into a tight fourth quarter.

The only saving grace for this roster is that they do have a great playoff mentality that has been bred in the locker room.

Odds via Tonybet

However, it’s not the end of the world for Miami Heat fans, as Joel Embiid will surely be on some form of minute restrictions, which should give them some breathing room, should he play. 

We also can’t disregard the winning culture Erik Spoelstra has managed to cultivate within the Heat franchise, allowing the roster to make the most of the NBA playoffs. Just look at their playoff record over the last several years – they have a knack for taking down teams that seem superior to them on paper.

With that being said, we have to side with the hometown heroes on this one, at least as long as Embiid manages to play and make a difference. Even with a minute restriction his presence should free up not only Maxey but also Tobias Harris, creating an amazing inside-outside game.

No matter which way you cut it, this will be an awesome game to watch, with plenty on the line for both rosters.

76ers vs Heat Prediction

• Pick: Philadelphia 76ers -6.5
• Odds: +123 (Tonybet)

It seems like we can agree with the bookmakers on this one: The Philadephia 76ers are the far and away favourites going into this game. The Heat have seemed much more sluggish all year, with Jimmy Butler only averaging about 20.8 points per game on the season.

Now, that scoring is less of an issue for the Miami Heat than it would be for other NBA teams due to their hounding defensive strategy, but it still doesn’t look too great on Miami’s end of things.

If Jimmy really shows up as he has in past, they could potentially bring home the game, but it never feels like relying on a miracle night from a single player. Making matters even worse, this bench is one of the worst put together by the Miami Heat over the last several years, putting even more pressure on the few stars.

In reality, Joel Embiid should have a field day with the Heat, as they really have nobody down low to slow down Embiid. If Maxey gets stuck on the perimeter, he will simply dump it into the post and let Embiid go to work.

Maxey will no doubt have his numbers hit at least slightly due to Miami’s fantastic perimeter defence, but it’s unlikely that it’ll slow down the roster too terribly. With a quick pump fake, Maxey should be able to get to the rim and grab a couple of buckets.

Again we have to side with the Philadephia 76ers going into Tuesday’s matchup. No matter which angle you look at it from – playstyle, pace, transition, shooting, or even defence – the 76ers have the Heat slightly beat across the board.

We would love to see an upset with the Heat going on yet another miraculous run, but logically that’s not our stance just yet.

76ers vs Heat Player Pick 

• Pick:  Joel Embiid to score under 30.5 points
• Odds: -120 (Tonybet)

While we did mention Embiid should be the deciding factor for this game, he will still likely be on some severe minutes restrictions, hampering his overall scoring. In just 20 minutes, it’ll be much harder to score at least 30.5 and he may not even be at 100% following his knee injury.

Don’t get it twisted, we definitely believe in Embiid’s prowess and silky smooth low post game, it’s just that dropping 31 right out of the gate could be harder than most people would like to believe. 

Adding insult to injury, Embiid’s bully ball style relies heavily on his inherent size and athleticism, the latter of which could have been potentially hindered by his knee. It’s not 1991, where a knee injury automatically ruins your career and athleticism, but in the short term it could pose some challenges. It’s quite hard to play bully ball when you can’t use your knee 100%.

All in all, we expect Embiid to put on a decent show but not go on any real scoring tear down the stretch. Instead, we think he will potentially be on rim-guarding duty with limited transition buckets.

Disclaimer: Odds are accurate at the time of posting and subject to change. Please verify the latest odds on our platform before betting.