May 4th NBA Playoffs Betting Preview & Picks

Two Game 2’s are happening on Wednesday evening, as two teams look to either take a 2-0 series lead or even up the series at 1-1.

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Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The Spread: Heat (-8)

The Philadelphia 76ers will be missing Joel Embiid, as he’s currently dealing with an orbital fracture and a concussion, in addition to a torn ligament in his right thumb.

With Embiid out, the Sixers will need to rely heavily on James Harden and Tyrese Maxey to pick up the scoring load.

However, neither player really picked up the load in Game 1, which led the Miami Heat to ultimately blow them out. Harden finished with just 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, and Maxey had 19 on 6-of-15 shooting.

Tobias Harris was a bright spot, however, as he went off for 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

Bam Adebayo carried the Heat in Game 1, as he finished with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.

Tyler Herro came off the bench and dropped 25 points, and dished out seven assists. Jimmy Butler provided 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

With the Sixers missing Embiid and the Heat being home, they should be able to take care of business with ease and cover the spread to go up 2-0 in the series. The only way the Sixers have a shot is if the old version of Harden shows up.

Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks

The Spread: Suns (-6)

The Phoenix Suns came out and took care of business in Game 1, as they got a well-rounded performance by all of their regular rotation players.

Devin Booker, who missed time in the first round due to a hamstring strain, carried the load for the Suns, as he had 23 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.

Deandre Ayton scored a team-high 25 points on 12-of-20 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Chris Paul added 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Cameron Johnson, Mikal Bridges, and Jae Crowder all scored 17, 13, and 11 points, respectively.

The Dallas Mavericks may have lost Game 1, but it wasn’t because of the play of Luka Doncic, who went off for 45 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. As Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said, everyone else needs to show up alongside him.

The Mavs did get 19 points from Maxi Kleber, 15 from Dorian Finney-Smith, and 13 from Jalen Brunson, but that wasn’t nearly enough to match up with the firepower from the Suns.

The Mavs are going to have to make adjustments, as this is no longer the Utah Jazz they’re facing off of, who had no wing defenders to speak of.

Expect the Suns to keep their foot on the gas pedal in this one and cover the spread in front of their home fans.