Two teams good enough to reach the Eastern Conference Finals meet in the first East play-in tournament game on Wednesday night as No. 8 seed Miami visits No. 7 Philadelphia, with the winner as the East’s No. 7 and opening the first round of the playoffs against No. 2 New York.

These teams split the four regular-season meetings, with the Heat winning the first two and the Sixers the last two. They met last on April 4 in Miami and Philly prevailed 109-105. Philadelphia ends the game on a 15-3 run. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 37 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists while aided by Embiid (29 points, four rebounds) and Kelly Oubre (18 points, eight rebounds) in the victory. Terry Rozier finished with 22 points, with Jimmy Butler adding 20 points and five assists for Miami in the losing effort.

The loser of this game will still get at least one more chance to advance, as it would host on Friday the winner of Wednesday’s later matchup between No. 10 Atlanta and No. 9 Chicago for the East’s No. 8 seed and the right to face NBA title favorite Boston in Round 1 of the playoffs. Either the Heat or Sixers could beat the No. 2 Knicks in the first round, but they aren’t beating the Celtics. That’s what makes winning so important.

Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament Game Info

Jimmy. Embiid. Heat. 76ers.

WIN TO GET IN action on Wednesday night. Winner locks up the East's 7th seed!

Wednesday, 7:00PM ET, ESPN pic.twitter.com/zpdeoU7Fxe

— NBA (@NBA) April 15, 2024

• When: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• TV: ESPN, ESPN2
• Radio: WAXY 790 AM (Heat) // 97.5 The Fanatic FM (76ers)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Heat (+4.5) // 76ers (-4.5)

Why bet on the Miami Heat?

Miami played in the East play-in tournament for the first time last season. It was the No. 7 seed and upset at home by No. 8 Atlanta but then beat Chicago to advance as the No. 8. The Heat would then get all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to Denver.

Miami has three injury concerns in guards Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson and big man Kevin Love. The latter two both missed multiple games to close the regular season, and Love left Sunday’s finale against Toronto with a contusion. How important is Robinson? Miami was 11-0 this season when he scored at least 20 points. Due to injury and the like, Miami started 35 different lineups this season, the most during a single-season in team history. Additionally, 18 different players started at least one game this season, tying the second-most during a single-season in franchise history.

The Heat recorded 24 road wins, marking the seventh time in team history they have recorded at least 24 road wins, including just the second time in the last 10 seasons. Their 24 road wins were the second-most in the Eastern Conference. Miami shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line this season, the second-highest single season percentage in franchise history.

This is always a good defensive team and this season was no different. Miami allowed just 108.4 points per game, the third-least in the NBA, and held opponents to under their season scoring averages in their last 22-straight games, doing so by an average of -10.7 points per game over that span. The 22-game streak is the longest in franchise history.

The Heat 106.6 allowed points on the road, which was the lowest in the NBA by nearly three points. The Heat also allowed the lowest field goal percentage and three-point percentage on the road in the league. The Sixers struggled to shoot at the Wells Fargo Center this year. The team had the 26th-best shooting percentage and the 20th-best three-point percentage at home.

Why bet on the Philadelphia 76ers?

Philadelphia is in the play-in tournament for the first time and surely would have been among the East’s top seeds if star center Joel Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, hadn’t been limited to just 39 games due to injury.

Embiid missed Sunday’s regular-season finale as the Sixers extended their NBA-best winning streak to eight with a blowout of Brooklyn, but he will play Tuesday. After Embiid tweaked his left knee last Friday against the Orlando Magic, Coach Nick Nurse said he has zero concerns that the reigning MVP will lose his aggressiveness for fear of reinjuring the knee.

That’s a good thing for the Sixers, who would have a tough time defeating the Heat without the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder. Embiid is getting back to his normal dominant self, averaging 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 30.5 minutes over the five games since his return. This season, he had 26 games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tied for second in the NBA. And that’s with missing more than half the year.

The Sixers might have one advantage in the series, and that’s Kyle Lowry, who was released by the Heat earlier this season and signed with his hometown club. Lowry had been with the Heat for 2.5 seasons before joining Philadelphia back in February. He knows how Miami operates and he was with the Heat on their run from the play-in to the finals in 2023.

“Certainly, in this, he knows this team very well,” Coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s played for them, right? So he knows the personnel, and he knows some inner workings of things that he thinks they might do. We’ve been talking about those.”

Heat vs. 76ers Betting Trends

• Miami is 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games.
• Heat are 7-3 SU in its last 10 games.
• The total went over in 9 of Miami’s last 10 games.
• Philadelphia is 10-0 ATS in the last 10 games.
• 76ers are 8-0 SU in its last 8 games.
• The total went over in 7 of Philadelphia’s last 10 games.

Heat vs. 76ers 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament Game Prediction

The Heat take the win on Wednesday night and advance into the playoffs to take on the Knicks.

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