NBA Play-In: Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat Preview, Odds, Predictions

The Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat will decide who takes No.7 in the East in this year’s first play-in game. The two units know one another pretty well, with them squaring off four times this year and in the playoffs last season. Miami was better back then in five games, which left a bad taste in the Hawks fans’ mouths. The Heat is the favorite coming up in this one, though; when one team has Trae Young and a roster like Hawks’, anything is possible. 

Preview 

Atlanta Hawks (+175) played with the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden without the help of any of their starters and important players. There was no need to risk any injuries, and keeping them fresh and well-rested for Miami was more logical. The Hawks lost that one 120-114, but that didn’t matter too much.

Trae Young is the best player the Hawks have, but his reputation could be endangered if Atlanta misses the playoffs. One conference final since he came to Georgia isn’t that much, especially when we say that the team didn’t evolve since, even though we saw the Hawks making aggressive moves on the market. 

This was one of the most inconsistent teams in the league in terms of making streaks, with them often subsequently posting wins and losses and going up and down the .500-mark. In the end they finished the season with the same number of victories and defeats, 41.

Miami Heat (-245) are at the crossroad here. Either they grow and make a big noise in the playoffs, or they collapse, and this team gets dissolved during the free agency. There is no other path for this Miami Heat unit.

Erik Spoelstra and the boys had a mediocre season instead of being one of the top three contenders for winning the East, as was proposed before the start of the campaign. They’ve been one of the league’s most versatile and diverse offenses but are terrible on that side of the ball now.

Miami is 30th in the league regarding points per game, and their field goal percentages are among the worst. The same goes for offensive rebounding. The only thing that makes them relevant is defense, the second-best in the league in points per game. 

Head to Head Games

These teams played four times since this year, and the Heat lead 3-1 in the seasonal series. The first meeting was in Atlanta, 106-98, the following in Atlanta, 121-113 for the Hawks. The last pair of encounters were in Florida, with Miami winning both 117-109 and 130-128. 

Predictions

The pressure on Miami is far greater than on the Hawks. This might sound odd to many, but that’s a big factor here because the Heat team looks as if it might break down at any given moment, and the play-in tournament is just the right time for that. Atlanta lost twice in Miami by a narrow margin, showing that they know how to compete against the hosts, and we will side with the underdogs here and bet on their victory. Our hunch forces us to bet on this.