Hawks vs Heat Odds Preview: Miami to Burn Hawks in First Play-In Game
Heat Have Won Five of Last Six Vs. Hawks
Miami Favored to Clinch Playoff Berth Over Atlanta
It’s a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series: The Miami Heat host the Atlanta Hawks to start the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Hawks vs Heat odds favor Miami to beat Atlanta with a point spread of 5.5 points (-210 on the moneyline). The Heat have won five of its last six games against the Hawks as well as seven straight on the road.
Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat
Day/Time:
Location: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL
Stream: TNT
Recent Matchups: Miami Gets Too Hot for Atlanta
As their recent matchups have indicated, Miami matches up well with Atlanta. That’s why the Heat vs Hawks odds favor them. But playing in the Play-In Tournament is not an ideal scenario for this team. Miami was supposed to be a title contender but now finds itself in a shaky position.
“This is our reality and you have to embrace that,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said just before the Heat faced Orlando in its season finale. “This is a totally new experience for all of us. It’s not exactly where we wanted to be heading into this season if you go back to training camp. But that is totally irrelevant. We have this in front of us and it’s competition and it’s great competition with a lot at stake.”
But maybe this is a blessing in disguise for Miami, a team that is at its best when it is playing in high-stakes games. A loss for Miami here is not the end as it can beat the winner of the other play-in game to clinch a playoff spot. Yet it would also mean facing Miami instead of Boston. Either way, the Heat will treat this game like it’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals and “go hard.”
Miami has dealt with injuries throughout the season. But the team now appears to be as healthy as it can be. Jimmy Butler has a hand injury though he is expected to play.
As for the Hawks, this team underperformed in the NBA team standings. And switching from Nate McMillan to Quin Snyder is still posing some issues for Atlanta. The Hawks have boosted their offensive rating (119.2) under his guidance. But its struggles late in the clutch and in close games could be what dooms this team. Heading to Miami, Atlanta’s margin for error is even smaller as it faces an opponent it has struggled to beat.
Key Players: Can Hawks Backcourt Make a Difference?
Atlanta‘s star backcourt will need to be in sync now more than ever. The pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has not worked out as the NBA regular season odds expected. Young still put up lofty numbers this season: 26.2 points and 10.2 assists. But he shot just 42.9 percent, his least efficient average since his rookie season.
Young also got neutralized by Miami this season. He shot just 35.6 percent from the floor (20.8 percent from 3-points) even if he still dished out 9.8 assists. Murray did not fare much better as he shot just 43.9 percent (29.6 from deep) and was -8.4 in average plus/minus. This duo will have to overcome this Heat defense for the team to thrive. And Murray is up for the challenge.
“I love adversity. I think there’s a bunch of guys in the locker room who love adversity, wherever they came up from, their stories, their journey. “Just feel like adversity builds the best people,” Murray said per Paul Terrazzano Jr. of Talkbasket.net.
On the other end, Butler knows all about adversity. After all, this is the same that start that scored 40+ points in four playoff games last season. One was against Atlanta where he shot 15-of-25 and scored 45 in Miami’s Game 2 win in Round 1. And in three games against Atlanta this season, he averaged 25 points on a whopping 75.2 true shooting percentage.
“Playoff Jimmy” is a real creature and he’s a big reason why the Heat vs Hawks odds lean toward the home team.
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