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Tonight is Game 2 for two second round series in the NBA Playoffs. James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid look to pull even in their series with Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Devin Booker is back in the lineup for the Phoenix Suns and tonight they look to go up 2-0 in their series against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, a win by the home teams and the favorite in each series has merely held serve, but a 2-0 deficit means having to win four out of the next five. Not likely to happen.
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To help you out, here are some statistics and suggested picks to three questions from this week’s game.
Question #1 Most Points Scored by a Player
James Harden vs. Miami Heat Season Avg. 21.0ppg
Jimmy Butler vs. Philadelphia 76ers Season Avg. 21.4ppg
Luka Doncic vs. Phoenix Suns Season Avg. 28.4ppg
Devin Booker vs. Dallas Mavericks Season Avg. 26.8ppg
We attack this question looking at this quartet in the order presented. James Harden in his career has put up massive numbers including a playoff high of 49 back in 2020 against the Mavericks. But that was two teams and more importantly two years ago. Jimmy Butler is more consistent than explosive. He will get you 18-25 every game but can he get you 45? Luka Doncic scored 45 just a couple days ago in the Mavericks’ loss to the Suns. No question he can do it again as he got the looks he wanted all game long and shot only 50% (15-30) from the field. Devin Booker can light up the scoreboard. If his hamstring is not hampering him and the Suns need him to score, he can match Luka.
However, the Suns will not need Devin to dominate as they have a serious advantage on the interior with Deandre Ayton. The Dallas offense runs through Luka Doncic. Thus, Doncic is the play here in what is practically a must win for the Mavericks.
Suggested Answer: Luka Doncic to score the most points of this group.
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Question #2 76ers Points vs. Heat
0-98, 99-104, 105-111, 112-117, 118-123, 124+
Philadelphia will be without Joel Embiid again for Game 2. If you forced them to tell the truth, they would probably admit they would not mind seeing DeAndre Jordan in street clothes seated beside the MVP candidate as well. Regardless, scoring will be an issue for Philadelphia. In every playoff series, the team that adjusts best from game to game prevails. The 76ers scored 92 in Game 1 and so adjustments are mandatory if Philadelphia is to even compete in this series. However, their opponent is led by one of the premier tacticians in the NBA. Erik Spoelstra has more chess pieces in this series and definitely knows better than Doc Rivers how to maneuver his pieces around said board. Philadelphia may find a way to score more than Miami in a game this series, but to reach 100 will be difficult.
Suggested Answer: The 76ers to score 0-98 points in the game.
Question #7
The Winner of the 76ers/Heat Game and the Margin of Victory
1-2, 3, 4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11+
There was a window of opportunity for Philadelphia to steal Game 1 of this series. They trailed by a single point at halftime. However, Bam Adebayo and co. came out in the second half and dominated Philadelphia in the paint. No reason to think anything will be different tonight other than a more concerted defensive effort from the Heat following a day of game planning by Spoelstra and his team.
In case you jumped ahead to this point in the article, Joel Embiid is still on the sidelines for Philadelphia. The MVP’s absence hurts on both ends of the court. The 76ers must shoot a higher percentage from the outside as they have no interior presence without Embiid. That is not easy against a Heat team that prides itself on playing hard on both ends of the floor. Kyle Lowry is out for Miami again tonight but Butler, Herro, and the rest of the Heat know the drill.
Suggested Answer: The Heat to win by a margin of 11+ points.
Enjoy the NBA Playoffs. Enjoy Predictor.
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