Miami Heat (46-39) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (58-25)
April 19, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Milwaukee Bucks -8.5; Over/Under: +221.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks meet Wednesday in Game 2 of the NBA East First Round Playoffs at the Fiserv Forum. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Miami Heat are averaging 130 points on 59.5 percent shooting and allowing 117 points on 49.5 percent shooting. Jimmy Butler is averaging 35 points and 5 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo is averaging 22 points and 9 rebounds. Kevin Love is the third double-digit scorer and Caleb Martin is grabbing 3 rebounds. The Miami Heat are shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. The Miami Heat are allowing 24.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36 rebounds per game.
The Milwaukee Bucks are averaging 117 points on 49.5 percent shooting and allowing 130 points on 59.5 percent shooting. Khris Middleton is averaging 33 points and 9 rebounds, while Bobby Portis is averaging 21 points and 8 rebounds. Jrue Holiday is the third double-digit scorer and Grayson Allen is grabbing 2 rebounds. The Milwaukee Bucks are shooting 24.4 percent from beyond the arc and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. The Milwaukee Bucks are allowing 60 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 38 rebounds per game.
The Heat are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games playing on 2 days rest and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 road games. The Bucks are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 6-0 in Heat last 6 overall. The over is 4-1 in Bucks last 5 overall. The Heat are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
The Milwaukee Bucks should be favored, with it looking like Giannis Antetokounmpo will be good to go and the Heat losing Tyler Herro. The Heat were also one of the worst offensive teams in the league this season, so don’t expect them to shoot the way they did on Sunday. Still, as I mentioned in the game 1 write up, these teams know each other well and that usually translates to close games. There are no surprises on either side, and the Heat have actually won 5 of the last 9 meetings. This is a lot of points. Give me the Heat and the free buckets again.
