The Miami Heat took Game 2 with a 119-103 victory in South Beach. Will the good times keep on rolling for the Heat in Game 3? Or will the Philadelphia 76ers cut the series deficit down in half? Check out our preview below of this Heat vs. Sixers 2022 NBA Playoffs game.
The Heat are barely getting challenged in the series. Up 2-0, the Heat will look to dig Philly a deeper hole this coming Friday. Bam Adebayo probably has the biggest shovel of them all, as the Heat big man continues to dominate Philadelphia. Without Joel Embiid for the Sixers in the first two games of this series, Adebayo has been able to rack up averages of 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while making 71.4 percent of his shots from the field. It will likely stay that easy for Adebayo so long as Embiid is out. Then again, the Heat still have plenty of weapons to keep Philly on its toes. Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Victor Oladipo are all showing up for Miami, which is 7-2 against the spread in its last 9 after giving up 100 points or more in the previous contest.
It’s clear that the Sixers are not going to survive this series without Joel Embiid. If anything, Embiid is reportedly progressing towards a return on Friday. With or without Embiid in Game 3, Philadelphia will still have a former NBA MVP in James Harden, who needs to snap out of his slump. Harden has been shooting just 39.3 percent in the series. If there’s a game where Harden will come up with his strongest performance against the Heat, it’s this Saturday’s, with virtually the Sixers’ season on the line. Tyrese Maxey, meanwhile, is a bright spot for the Sixers. He is leading his team this series with 18.5 points on a 48.6 field goal percentage after scoring 34 points in Game 2.
The Sixers are 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 games vs. a team with over a 60 percent winning rate.
