April 3, 2012

NBA Betting Previews- Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat

NBA Betting Previews- Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

Pointspread: Miami -7.5

Total Line: OFF

The Philadelphia 76ers will try and snap a seven-game road losing streak to the Miami Heat this Tuesday night when the two Eastern Conference foes clash at the American Airlines Arena. The tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.

Philadelphia salvaged a 95-90 win over Atlanta on Saturday night as a seven-point home favorite to stay within one game of Boston in the Atlantic Division title race. It is now 29-23 straight-up on the year and 26-25-1 against the spread. The 76ers are 10-13 SU (9-13-1 ATS) on the road and the total has gone 11-12 in the 23 games.

With a once sizable lead in the division gone, Philadelphia now finds itself as the seven seed in the East. It continues to struggle with consistency on offense behind a bunch of over-achievers, but remains sound on defense; holding opponents to a NBA-best 87.8 points a game.

Miami has not been its dominant-self over a recent five-game road trip and coming off Sunday’s embarrassing 91-72 beatdown at the hands of the Celtics as a four-point road favorite. The loss dropped the Heat to 37-14 SU (25-26 ATS) overall, but they have only lost two of 23 games at home this season SU and are 12-11 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 15 of their 23 home games.

You have to believe that LeBron James and Co. will come into this game a bit more focused than they were in Boston. Miami’s 72 points, verse a season average of 100.7 points a game, was by far its lowest output of the year.

The 76ers are 3-7 in their last 10 games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games on the road. The total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of their last 11 road games.

The Heat are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following a SU loss of 10 points or more and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Atlantic Division. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 13 of their last 16 games at home.

The favorite in this series has covered in five of the last seven meetings with the total staying ‘under’ in five of the last eight games. The 76ers are 0-3 both SU and ATS this season including a 113-92 loss as 6.5-point underdogs in their last trip to Miami. Things will not get any better this time around as Philadelphia gets tagged with another double-digit loss on the road. The Free NBA Pick: Miami 98 Philadelphia 87

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Dave Schwab

DJ is a freelance writer that concentrates on his true passion in life; the world of sports. He produces a number of articles each week for BangTheBook.com as well as a select group of other websites that specialize in providing the most up-to-date information for the sports gaming industry. His goal is to write insightful articles on a wide variety of sporting topics that can provide an edge to today's sophisticated online player.