The No. 8 Miami Heat take on the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers in a play-in game on Wednesday, April 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET from the Wells Fargo Center, and the game will air on ESPN. The winner of this game earns the No. 7 seed, and the loser plays for the No. 8 seed Friday.
Terry Rozier (neck) is out for the Heat while Duncan Robinson is probable to return. De’Anthony Melton (shoulder) has been ruled out for the 76ers, and Joel Embiid is likely to play after missing the 76ers’ regular season finale. The big man is officially being listed as questionable.
The 76ers are 5.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the total is set at 207.5. Philadelphia is -218 on the moneyline while Miami is +180.
Heat vs. 76ers, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: 76ers -5.5
Embiid has been up and down since his return late in the season, but he will certainly take the court for a game as significant as this one. While the Heat have been an electric postseason franchise over the last several years, I’m taking the Sixers to win the first play-in game. The Sixers will push the Heat to work around Embiid, which is a major advantage as Miami does not have a true match under the rim. They will also force Jimmy Butler to be everywhere at once on the court defensively as they spread scoring around among Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and Kelly Oubre Jr. The two teams went 2-2 in the regular season but the home side gets the edge in this one.
Over/Under: Over 207.5
The Heat get some rotation players back in their lineup in Kevin Love and Robinson in this matchup, which will give them an offensive boost. The Sixers have plenty of scorers, but the Heat can beat Embiid and Philly on fastbreaks to force the 76ers to run up the score. With a relatively low total here, we’re going with the over.