by Ben Perks
Despite destroying Philly in their last game, Vegas oddsmakers have made Miami Heat slight underdogs against the 76ers on the road on Thursday night. A win for the Heat will secure them a place in the Eastern Conference Finals and end the 76ers’ postseason in front of their home crowd.
In Game 5, Miami punished Philadelphia 120-85 at the FTX Arena. If the scoreline wasn’t bad enough, star player Joel Embiid also reaggravated his multiple injuries to cap a horrific night for Philly.
Can the 76ers win against the odds to keep their campaign alive, or will the Heat punch their ticket to the next round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center?
Get betting insights and the latest odds for Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers.
Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers
- When: Thursday, May 12 at 10pm ET
- Top NBA betting sites favor the 76ers on the moneyline
- Miami currently leads the series 3-2
- Bovada has the Heat at +600 to win the NBA Championship
- Philadelphia are a +3000 longshot to lift the NBA title
Miami Bringing the Heat
After poor performances in Games 3 and 4, the Heat blew away Philadelphia by 35 points on Tuesday.
If Spoelstra’s players possess the same energy in Game 6, they could bring an embarrassing end to Philly’s disappointing campaign against the odds.
Five Miami players finished the matchup with double-figures – led By Jimmy Butler’s 23 points. Max Strus dropped 19, and Gabe Vincent chipped in with 15 points.
Despite struggling to shoot threes in the last two games in Philadelphia, the shots landed in Game 4 for Miami, going 13-for-33 (39%). Strus impressed by sinking four, and Butler went 2-for-4.
Along with having their way from deep, the Heat was ruthless down low, outrebounding the 76ers by ten and outscoring them 56-36 in the paint.
If Spoelstra’s players possess the same energy in Game 6, they could bring an embarrassing end to Philly’s disappointing campaign against the odds.
It’s Crunch Time for Philly
Now staring at elimination, the 76ers need to put their performance in Game 5 behind them quickly. Joel Embiid and co. looked short of ideas and quite frankly weak on Tuesday. Embiid’s energy usually inspires his teammates to dig deep. However, it was in short supply against the Heat.
The Cameroonian only scored 17 points in 33 minutes of action. Although he went 7-for-12 from the field, he lacked his usual intensity – receiving a blow to where his orbital fracture occurred didn’t help matters. As a result, the 76ers struggled to get anything going.
After bagging 31 points in Game 4 online sportsbooks expected Jame Harden to put up similar numbers in Game 5 – yet he only managed 14. As Embiid’s injury issues are hampering his game, the 76ers need Harden to step up to the plate on Thursday.
If he doesn’t, Philadelphia will have to wave goodbye to their title hopes.
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Ben is a sports journalist & part-time trader with a passion for finding +EV bets. Ben lives in Madrid, Spain where he enjoys the live poker scene, and sunshine where he covers UFC, MLB, NHL, NBA, as well as tennis betting.
