BetAnySports’ NBA Playoffs Pick of the Week — Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers Game 2- Tuesday, May 20
BetAnySports’ Line: Heat -2 1/2 and the Total is 184 1/2
The NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoffs have gone chalk so far with No. 2 Miami squaring off against No. 1 Indiana in the Conference Finals. The Pacers opened the series with an impressive 107-96 victory this past Sunday as two-point home underdogs. The total went OVER the 182-point closing line. BetAnySports has opened the Heat as 2.5-point road favorites for Tuesday night with the total set at 184.
Miami’s slow start out of the gate in Game 1 of this series led to a 10-point deficit at the half that it was never able to close. Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 27 points and LeBron James added another 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but it was not enough. The Heat looked sharp shooting the ball from the field with a field goal percentage of 51.3, but when it came to hitting their shots from 3-point range it was a whole other story by going just 6-for-23. They also lost the battle under the boards by getting outrebounded 38 to 29.
The Heat cruised through their first two playoff series in nine games. They eliminated Charlotte with four-straight wins and they sent Brooklyn packing in five. However, they have now failed to cover against the spread in three of their last four postseason games. The total has gone OVER in five of their last six playoff games on the road.
Indiana has looked like a whole different ball club its past few games then the one that needed back-to-back victories over Atlanta in the opening round to win that series in seven games. It started off the Conference Semifinals against Washington with a 102-96 loss as a four-point home favorite, but got things in gear with a 4-1 SU run to win that series in six games. The Pacers are now 7-2 SU in their last nine games with a 6-3 record ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in nine of their last 13 games.
All five Indiana starters scored in double figures in Game 1 with Paul George leading the way with 24 points. The team shot an impressive 51.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range as opposed to a postseason average of 44.8 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. It was just the second time in 14 playoff games that the Pacers scored more than 100 points.
The home team in this showdown is a perfect 9-0 SU in the last nine meetings, but I am bucking that trend for Tuesday night by taking Miami minus the 2.5 points on BetAnySports’ current NBA betting line for this game.