The Atlanta Hawks (1-3) visit FTX Arena Tuesday to take on the Miami Heat (3-1). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Hawks vs. Heat Game 5 odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Heat are going to have a chance to join the Boston Celtics in punching their ticket to the second round.
The Hawks did avoid a potential sweep in Game 3 with a 111-110 victory. Game 4 was all Miami again though as the Heat pulled away in the second quarter by outscoring Atlanta 30-15 en route to a 110-86 victory.
Miami’s starting G Kyle Lowry will again be out. Among players who have yet to miss a postseason game, F Jimmy Butler ranks second in scoring at 30.5 points per game. Atlanta has had no answer for his aggression.
Atlanta has also had a hard time offensively as G Trae Young has struggled against an ultra-versatile Heat lineup. Young is averaging just 16.5 points per game and shooting 35.1% from the field.
Hawks at Heat odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:23 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Hawks +250 (bet $100 to win $250) | Heat -320 (bet $320 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Hawks +7.5 (-122) | Heat -7.5 (-102)
- Over/Under (O/U): 217.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Hawks at Heat key injuries
Hawks
- F Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) questionable
- C Clint Capela (knee) questionable
- G Lou Williams (back) out
Heat
- G Kyle Lowry (hamstring) out
- F P.J. Tucker (calf) questionable
- G Gave Vincent (toe) probable
[tipico]
Hawks at Heat picks and predictions
Prediction
Heat 113, Hawks 103
Money line
PASS.
The Heat (-320) are far too pricey to suggest, and I’d stay away from predicting the upset as Miami outscored Atlanta by a combined 34 points at home through the first two games.
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Against the spread
BET MIAMI -7.5 (-102).
Plan and simple — Miami has been the superior team. Its defense on Young has been a masterclass so far in this series.
C Bam Adebayo and F P.J. Tucker are the real keys since they’re quintessential two-way players. The Heat’s defense ranked fourth in defensive rating this season, and it’s been able to hold Atlanta to fewer than 92 points in two of the four games thus far.
Offense could be an issue for the Heat against a better team, but given Atlanta ranked 26th in defensive rating in the regular season, that dilemma has yet to surface. The Heat’s two-way ability will again be too much for Atlanta to handle.
Miami won by 24 points and 10 points at home in Game 1 and 2 respectively. Riding a 24-point Game 4 win, it is 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in the series. Atlanta is 6-20 ATS as a road underdog this season.
Betting on Miami is the clear best bet in this game.
Over/Under
LEAN to the UNDER 217.5 (-110).
Atlanta is 10-16 O/U as a road underdog.
When the series was in Miami for the first two games, the total went under both times. The series is 0-4 O/U already. This will be the lowest total it has seen, and it still would be just 2-2 O/U through the four games.
Given Atlanta has scored under 112 in each game and can’t get its superstar quality looks along with Miami’s defense being among the best in the NBA, it’s easy to again assume the under is the better play here.
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