Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: Who will seize the seventh seed for the First Round?

The NBA Postseason is here after a tenuous journey of the Regular Season which once again saw various record-breaking performances, perhaps more than it had in the prior seasons. But the race to the title is what stokes up fanbases as the Playoffs kick in. However, first, we have the Play-in tournament, the winner of this game between the seventh-ranked Miami Heat and the eighth-ranked Atlanta Hawks advances to the first round to face the second-ranked Boston Celtics. The loser takes on the winner of the match-up between the ninth and tenth seeds. Who will prevail here?

Miami Heat

The Heat won 44 games and had 38 losses. They were plagued by offensive inefficiencies all season long. This is despite the team having three 20+ points scorers in Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Jimmy Butler. Due to the struggles of Kyle Lowry and lacking a viable fourth option, the Heat’s effort collapsed consistently. Their defense was solid yet again and they were second in terms of conceding points per game (109.5).

Their inside defense was solid, and they gave up the least two-point field goals(27.0) but were third worst in the opponent’s three-point field goals(13.1). The concern for Heat is going to be their dry spells and their pace which is rather too deliberate. Butler turns it on during the Playoffs but the team will need more from its fourth option. Let us see if Heat at least registers a first-round berth here.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks finished with 41 wins and 41 losses. This was a rather underwhelming return of the team and for the second season in a ow, they didn’t develop a winning rhythm to be in the top-six standings. Much more was expected out of the backcourt of Trae Young and DeJounte Murray but the Hawks had several struggles. Offensively, the team did fine, having accumulated 118.4 points per game which is the third-best in the league.

However, this was another disappointing defensive season, the team gave up 48.6% from the field which was among bottom-five squads. Their inside defense was awful and they gave up second-most two-point field goals(31.1). Trae Young’s numbers dropped and his long-range shooting was inconsistent, and when he came against the Heat last season, he was shut down thoroughly. Will he bury that ghost here?

Injuries

• Heat: OUT: Nikola Jovic. QUESTIONABLE: Max Strus, Kyle Lowry;
• Hawks: Nothing to report at the time of writing.

Player Props Predictions

• Expected Leading Scorers: Jimmy Butler(28-34 Points), Bam Adebayo(23-28 Points), Trae Young(19-24 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Clint Capela(11-14 Rebounds), Bam Adebayo(9-12 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Trae Young(10-12 Assists), Jimmy Butler(6-8 Assists).

Expert Betting Tips

The Heat made a meal out of the Hawks during the last Playoffs but they are just not the same unit as the last season. The Hawks have been a strong offensive team but their defense is suspect and the Heat can pincer out various inside-scoring opportunities. I see a Jimmy Butler takeover here and the Heat to win this with a scoreline of 118:107.