Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks NBA Betting Picks, Odds Predictions & Lines
Milwaukee and Miami will open the Eastern Conference playoffs when they meet on Sunday afternoon. The matchup is a rematch of the last year’s semifinals which went Miami’s way. The Bucks are coming to the playoffs in a good form having lost only twice in the last 10 games. Plus, one of those losses came in the last game of the regular season when most of the key players were rested. Milwaukee is entering the postseason as the 3rd seed with a 46-26 straight up record. The Bucks were less successful against the spread, going 32-40. The Heat also had a furious finish to the regular season, winning 11 out of the last 15th games to secure the 6th seed. Overall, they’re 40-32 SU and 34-36-32 ATS. The two teams met three times this season with Milwaukee winning twice. However, in both losses, Miami was without its best player, Jimmy Butler.Are you ready to see tyler herro square off against bam adebayo in this bucks heat prediction or sesión?
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks Betting Odds And Line Movement
The opening odds favored the Bucks by -5.5. In the meantime, the line has shrunk a bit, to 4.5 where it stands at the moment. The total also saw a small drop, from 228 to 227.
Notes On The Miami Heat
It seems that Miami felt the consequences of the shortened offseason the most of any team in the league. They struggled with injuries and Covid issues throughout the year. Still, after an inconsistent season, Miami finished strong and seems to be more than ready for the playoffs. The big news for them is that Jimmy Butler is reportedly healthy and ready to go after missing the last two games. The Heat is the team in the mold of its leader and having Butler on the court adds to their fighting spirit and gritty mentality. With Butler in the lineup, Miami is 33-19. Without him, they’re well below .500 with a 7-13 record. On Saturday afternoon, coach Spo will be looking to exploit Milwaukee’s main weakness which is defending the 3-point line. The Bucks are allowing 38.44% from the deep which is the second-worst mark in the league. At the same time, improved perimeter shooting played a big role in Miami’s strong finish to the season. Over the last 16 games, they shot 39.6 from the long-range for 43.2 points per game.
Other than Victor Oladipo, who’s out for the season, Miami has no other significant injury concerns.
Notes On The Milwaukee Bucks
In the last two years, the Bucks dominated the regular season only to suffer disappointing losses in the playoffs. This year, they did much more tinkering and exploring different strategies which cost them the No. 1 seed. However, they seem to be built better for the postseason success. They’re still the offensive juggernaut, though. Milwaukee led the league with 120.13 points per game. They were also third in FG percentage with 48.7% and fifth in 3pt percentage with 38.89%. Everything still revolves around Giannis Antetokounmpo who will be extremely motivated after the underwhelming series last year. For Giannis, Miami is one of the toughest matchups in the league as they have plenty of defenders to throw at him, led by Butler and Adebayo.
For Saturday, Middleton, Portis, and Toupane are all listed as questionable.
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Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks Betting Pick & Prediction:Milwaukee -4.5
The Bucks will relish playing in front of the home crowd even with a limited number of fans. They are eager to get revenge for last year and they do seem to have more weapons this time. Jrue Holiday is proving to be invaluable addition and increased depth allows the team to stay in games while Giannis is on the bench.
