Max Sussman brings the picks for each of the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals happening in the NBA on Friday night.
I’ve seen a stat kicking around various betting communities lately: NBA teams down 2-0 hosting Game 3 are 34-12-1 against the spread, historically. So, keep that in mind as I tell you why teams in that scenario are going 0-2 tonight.
The two key injuries in the Eastern Conference semi-final between Miami and Philadelphia are not the same. And the stakes surrounding each injury couldn’t be more different. As Philly prepares to host the Heat in a must-win game, it almost feels like Joel Embiid NEEDS to play Friday night, or this series is over.
Assuming Embiid is out for this one, the biggest problem for Philly is that Tyrese Maxey was great in Game 2, and they still lost handily. This line moved when Kyle Lowry was upgraded to questionable, and it will probably move if he ends up playing. But I don’t think the Heat need Toronto’s favourite adopted son to win this. I mean, there were possessions in Game 2 where James Harden, perhaps the NBA’s most famously lazy defender, was guarding Jimmy Butler. ON PURPOSE.