While Boston and Chicago have waged a seven-game series for the ages, Atlanta and Miami have also taken their first-round series the distance. However, that’s where the similarities end.
In the first six games between the Heat and Hawks, each and every game has been decided by double-digit margins. Not once have we seen a lead change beyond the first quarter. On Friday night in Game 6 at AmericanAirlines Arena, it was Miami’s turn to deal out woodshed treatment.
And the Heat held nothing back. They jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and the Hawks never got closer than nine after that. When the bludgeoning was done with, Miami had a 98-72 victory as a 4 ½-point favorite to force Sunday afternoon’s Game 7 at Philips Arena.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Atlanta (50-38 straight up, 46-41-2 against the spread) as a 4 ½-point favorite with a total of 179. As of early Saturday afternoon, most books had the Hawks as 5 ½-point ‘chalk’ with the total adjusted to 181. Gamblers can back the Heat on the money line for a plus-200 return (risk $100 to win $200).
There are a number of key injury situations for bettors to stay on top of before placing wagers on this contest. Mike Woodson’s team is hoping to have the services of Al Horford and/or Marvin Williams.
Horford dressed out in Game 6 but did not touch the court. He suffered a sprained ankle in Game 5 and is listed as “questionable.” The University of Florida product has missed 15 games this year with the Hawks going 7-8 both SU and ATS without him. Horford averaged 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.
Williams (13.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG) sustained a sprained wrist in Game 2 of this series and missed the next three contests. In Game 6, Williams surprisingly made a brief appearance off the bench. He played five minutes during a first-half stint and missed his lone attempt from the field.
Miami (46-42 SU, 43-43-2 ATS) has been without Jamario Moon since he left Game 3 with a sports hernia. Moon is out for the rest of the season. Jermaine O’Neal, who had been enjoying an outstanding series with a 16.0 PPG average, could not go Friday after sustaining a concussion at some point in Game 5. O’Neal is “questionable” for Sunday.
During Friday’s run-away-and-hide triumph, Dwyane Wade showed no signs of the back spasms that were ‘allegedly’ so bothersome to him in Games 3, 4 and 5. Wade lit up the Hawks for 41 points, getting to the charity stripe 17 times compared to 18 total free-throw attempts for Atlanta. Wade hit 16 FT’s and was 11-of-23 from the field before leaving the game with five-plus minutes remaining.
Michael Beasley was sensational off the bench, producing a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds. The box score won’t indicate it, but Joel Anthony was a force at both ends of the court in place of O’Neal. Anthony finished with six points (3-of-3 from the floor), eight rebounds, three blocked shots and a slew of on-ball screens to free up Wade for open looks.
Outside of Mike Bibby, who kept his team in the game with 20 first-half points, nobody played well for Atlanta. Joe Johnson’s nightmare series continued, as he had only 13 points and once again finished with more turnovers (three) than assists (two).
During the regular season, Johnson averaged 21.4 points per game but he’s scored more than 16 points in this series just once, a 25-point effort in Game 5. He has an abysmal 18/20 assists-to-turnovers ratio.
Atlanta destroyed Miami at Philips by scores of 90-64 and 106-91 in Games 1 and 5, respectively. In Game 2, the Heat spanked the home team 108-93 as a five-point road underdog.
These teams have now met 10 times this season with the ‘under’ cashing at an 8-2 clip. Both ‘overs’ appeared at Atlanta in Games 2 and 5 of this series. The Hawks have won six of the 10 overall encounters, four of five at Philips.
The ‘over’ is 47-40-1 overall for Miami, 23-21 in its road assignments. The Heat are 16-28 SU and 21-22-1 ATS on the road this season.
The ‘under’ is 46-40-2 overall for Atlanta, 24-20 in its home games. The Hawks play their best basketball at Philips, compiling a 33-11 SU record and 24-19-1 ATS mark on their home floor.
ABC will have the telecast at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--Atlanta hasn’t won a playoff series since 1999 when it beat Detroit in the days of the best-of-five format during the first round. The Hawks were then swept by the Knicks in the second round.
--The Hawks saw their first-round series against Boston go to seven games last year. They were on the road, however, and took a 99-65 pounding as 14 ½-point underdogs. Johnson was the only Atlanta starter to score in double figures with 16 points, but he made just 5-of-17 attempts from the field.
--If bettors are spending much time breaking down who is “fresh” or might be “spent,” take note of Udonis Haslem playing only 11 minutes in Game 6. Haslem was in foul trouble all night and gave way to Beasley and Anthony.
--Prior to Game 6, Atlanta’s Josh Smith apologized to Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra for his ill-advised showboat dunk that missed in the final stanza of Game 5.
--The bad blood in this series continued to fester in Game 6. Smith and Jamaal Magloire exchanged words early in the fourth quarter, while Wade and Mo Evans also shared pleasantries on a couple of occasions.
Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.
