Heat vs Hawks Prediction & Odds: Miami A Small Favorite On The Road

The Miami Heat (55-29 SU, 48-35-1 ATS) visit the Atlanta Hawks (45-41, 39-47) at State Farm Arena on Friday as they look to go up 3-0 in their first-round Eastern Conference series. Miami has taken the first two games convincingly – can they do it again? Find out in our Heat vs Hawks prediction.

Heat vs Hawks Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Hawks opened as a somewhat surprising 1.5-point favorite but that number had swung around to favor Miami by Friday morning with the total set at 220 points. The UNDER is 8-1 in Atlanta’s last nine games and 6-3 in the last nine meetings between the two teams. Miami is 5-1 in its last six games against Atlanta, making the favorites a solid pick for your Heat vs Hawks prediction.

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Butler Brings The Heat In Game 2

It was the Jimmy Butler show in Game 2 as he scored a playoff career-high 45 points to lead the Heat to a 115-105 win. Tyler Herro (15 points), Max Strus (14 points) and Gabe Vincent (11 points) also scored in double digits for Miami.

Butler came up big when Miami needed it most on Tuesday as it was his own 7-0 run that sealed the game late in the fourth quarter. After Bogdan Bogdanovic sank a three-pointer with just over three minutes left to bring the Hawks within three, Butler scored seven unanswered points in a 56-second span to put the Heat up 10 and ensure the win.

Bam Adebayo (quad), Caleb Martin (ankle), Markieff Morris (hip) and PJ Tucker (calf) are questionable while Gabe Vincent (toe) is probable.

Hawks Offense Falls Short Again

The Hawks fell into a 2-0 series hole on Tuesday as they lost their second straight game to the Heat by at least 10 points. Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 29 points while Trae Young scored 25 – a big improvement over his eight-point performance in Game 1, but still not enough to get the Hawks a win.

Atlanta has struggled to score in the series, averaging just 98 points through the first two games. We know that the Hawks can score as they averaged 113.7 points this season – ranking sixth in the NBA – but they’ll need to make some big adjustments to get things back on track. The Hawks had nine players average double digits in scoring during the regular season but they’re down to just five in the series.

Lou Williams (back) is out for Friday’s matchup.

Heat vs Hawks Pick & Insights

Heat: Keys To Cover

The Heat have two things going for them in this series: Butler is sizzling and the defense is on point, holding Atlanta to under 100 points per contest. If Butler stays hot and the defense remains that effective, the Heat should pick up another win.

Hawks: Keys To Cover

Atlanta is probably going to need a superhuman effort from Young to get back into this series. We know he’s capable of doing it as he scored 30 or more in five of his last seven games to close out the season.

Odds Shark’s Computer Heat vs Hawks Prediction: Heat -1.5

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