A potential first round playoff matchup is set for Thursday night when the Miami Heat (42-37, 16-23 away) visit the Philadelphia 76ers (52-27, 29-11 home). The Sixers are locked into the third seed in the East, while the Heat are currently seventh and will need a miracle to happen to avoid the play-in tournament. Below is my NBA pick for Miami vs Philadelphia.

Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers Betting Pick

The Pick: Philadelphia 76ers -3.5 @ Bookmaker

This game will be played at Wells Fargo Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

Why Bet The Philadelphia 76ers:

✅ Philadelphia is playing well to end the regular season as they have won 12 of their last 17 games played.

✅ At home, the 76ers are as good as anyone and they are 5-1 in their last six games at Wells Fargo Center.

✅ Miami has struggled against Philadelphia as they have won just five of their last 18 games in The City of Brotherly Love.

The Miami Heat are Looking to Avoid the Play-In Tournament

Miami has taken advantage of an easier schedule in the first week of April and enter this game on a two-game winning streak. The Heat have three games left to play and are 1.5 games back of the sixth place Brooklyn Nets. Miami will have to win out and get some help if they are to avoid the play-in tournament next week.

The Heat last played on Tuesday night when they visited the tanking Detroit Pistons and left with a 118-105 win. This was coming off a solid 129-122 win, at home, over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Jimmy Butler has been the Heat talisman all season long as he leads the team with 22.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. Bam Adebayo has grabbed a team high of 9.3 rebounds per game.

Philadelphia 76ers Hoping to Avoid Injury

Philadelphia has won three of their last four games and are coming off an impressive 103-101 home win over the Boston Celtics. The 76ers are in the midst of a tough three game stretch that started with a double-digit road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday and ends with this game Thursday night.

Joel Embiid should win MVP this season, as he leads Philadelphia with 33.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but the tightly contested race is going to come down to the final few games. James Harden has dished out a team leading 10.8 assists per game this year.