Miami Heat Atlanta Hawks LA Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves NBA play-in betting preview
In between a bit of teammate punching, some wall-punching and trying to punch a ticket to the playoffs, the NBA play-in games are here.
Both the Eastern and Western conference’s seven and eight-seeds do battle (in the case of Minnesota, not with each other) for a chance at locking in the seven seed and progressing to the playoffs..
Kaseya Center, Florida, Wednesday 9.40am
The first NBA play-in game tips off with Jimmy Butler and the East 7-seed Miami Heat ($1.47) hosting Trae Young’s 8-seed Atlanta Hawks ($2.62) in a replay of last year’s playoff series.
On the line, locking in the 7-seed and the right to play the Boston Celtics in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
The Heat are deserved favourites – this is the squad that beat Atlanta 4-1 in a gentleman’s sweep (s/o NBA Straya) and made the Eastern Conference finals last year – and won three of the four matchups they played this regular season, including a 130-128 nailbiter at the start of March.
In total Miami has won eight of the last 10 against Atlanta, limiting the Hawks to an average of 105.2 points per game.
In a sudden-death win-and-in game though, it comes down to matchups and whether it’s Jimmy Butler or Trae Young who steps up and delivers.
In a tough blow for Atlanta, Trae averaged 19.8 points (on a miserable 35.6% shooting), 9.8 assists and 5.3 turnovers in four games against the Heat this season, and an even more abysmal 15.4 points a game in the playoff series last year.
Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, averaged 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in last year’s series.
It’s tough to back Atlanta, but the Heat have the ninth best home record in the league but are the NBA’s second worst team at covering the line (14-24-3) this season, so expect the Heat to win, but for the likes of Dejounte Murray to step up and keep this close.
Crypto.com Arena, California, Wednesday 12.10pm
Out west for the NBA’s 7-8-seed play-in game, LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ LA Lakers host a reeling Minnesota Timberwolves missing two of its most important defensive pieces after Jaden McDaniels broke his hand punching a wall and big man Rudy Gobert was suspended for throwing a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson.
The defence is meant to be played against the OTHER team, Rudy.
Still, the Wolves won two of the matchups this season and five of the past seven, plus there’s a case to be made for Minnesota’s spacing without Gobert: with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards fit and firing, losing Gobert might not be the worst thing.
Sans the big Frenchman the Wolves went 8-4 this season and averaged 121.1 points a game.
But the Lakers defence has been a top three unit since the All-Star break and with LeBron and AD eyeing off a little extra rest and no McDaniels to throw at James, LA should bring its A-game to lock in the 7-seed and a first round playoff matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
