Why Heat, Raptors Will Win East Play-In Berths

The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors have home-court advantage in their Eastern Conference Play-In series, and that could be what counts.

Our NBA Predictions have them favored to win their Game 1 matches on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. It also helps to have experience playing deep into the playoffs in recent years, so the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls could be up against it.

Experience Counts for Heat

The Heat has plenty of experience as a unit in the playoffs, so that’s what could count against Atlanta.

Take nothing away from the Hawks, who went 41-41, but they haven’t played well enough to be considered a threat in the playoffs.

The attitude of the Hawks has always been to do what’s needed during the regular season, before giving it their all when it counts. However, because of that attitude, they rarely make a deep run.

Miami, on the other hand, plays tough all year, which holds it in good stead in April.

The Heat finished at 44-38 following a loss to the Washington Wizards, but they looked good when beating Dallas, Detroit, and Philadelphia last week and winning 123-110 over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Our NBA expert picks expect the Heat to progress through to the main draw for the NBA playoffs, especially with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo playing superb basketball. Adebayo was terrific in their win over the 76ers, which is an excellent form guide.

Tyler Herro was also impressive, dropping 24 points alongside Butler.

“It sets us up for the playoffs and builds momentum,” said Herro, who was 7-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line. “I feel like we’re trending in the right direction on both ends of the floor and going in the right direction heading into the playoffs.”

Herro is right to feel confident. The sportsbook has the Heat favored to win the opening game and the series, which isn’t surprising. They have the experience and home-court edge, which should be enough to see them through.

Our only concern is if Trae Young gets hot for the Hawks, but he would need help, and their outside shooting has dropped significantly from last season.

Raptors to Terrorize Bulls

There has been some speaking for the Bulls with online gambling markets, but we’re comfortable with our NBA picks for the Raptors.

They have a team good enough to test others in the Eastern Conference, and they have shown in previous years that they’re never to be counted out.

Despite losing two of their last three games, those losses came against the Boston Celtics, who finished second on the ladder. They also came on the road, where the Raptors are much worse than their impressive 27-14 record at Scotiabank Arena.

If the Bulls want to beat the Raptors, they’ll need to turn that record around. They went 1-2 during the regular-season series against the Raptors, with both losses coming on the road.

Home-court advantage is huge for the Raptors, who have experience with Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby. Whilst it’s not the most headline roster in the NBA, it’s solid, and they’re used to playing with each other.

Sport betting odds have the Raptors favored to win, but there has been solid betting support for the Bulls. Even though betting on a team with the likes of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan is attractive, the Raptors play better overall, so take them to exit the Play-In Tournament and into the main draw.