The Miami Heat have a golden chance to close out this first-round series this Tuesday in front of their home crowd. Will this be the end of the Atlanta Hawks’ run? Or will Trae Young and company extend the series with a victory? Check out our preview below of this Hawks vs. Heat 2022 NBA Playoffs matchup.
Game 4 was a disaster fort the Hawks despite Clint Capela’s return. Capela scored just 2 points on 1/4 shooting with 7 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. But with him knocking off some of the rusts, there could be a much better performance coming from him this coming Tuesday. What the Hawks also would need to see is Trae Young getting his shooting touch back after scoring just 9 points on a salty 3/11 shooting in Game 4. Bojan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter combined for only 8 points in Game 4, further explaining why Atlanta got decimated by the Heat. Those are the guns the Hawks need to fire if they are to avoid getting eliminated. A bright spot in Game 4 for the Hawks was the play of De’Andre Hunter, who finished with 24 points on 9/13 shooting.
The Under is 8-0 in the Hawks’ last 8 games as an underdog away from home.
The Heat are just straight up bullying Atlanta, Jimmy Butler in particular. Butler is having quite a first round, as he has become a one-man wrecking crew for the Heat and a living, walking, dunking nightmare for the Hawks. So far in the series, the two-way forward is putting up 28.7 points on 53.3 percent shooting from the field. He is also averaging 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per contest. He is also getting ample support from the others, with four other Heat players averaging at least 10 points per game. Furthermore, the Heat are outshooting Atlanta from behind the arc, connecting on 38.7 percent of their threes to just 31.5 percent by the Hawks. Defensively, the Heat are having success containing the Hawks, who are only averaging 102.3 points in the series while also shooting just 45.9 percent from the floor.
The Heat are 5-0 against the spread in their last 5 games as a home favorite.
