The NBA regular season is in the books, and now the pro basketball world shifts its attention to the annual Play-In Tournament. The league’s playoff appetizer begins Tuesday night with a pair of intriguing matchups, as the Miami Heat will play at the Charlotte Hornets, and the Portland Trail Blazers will visit the Phoenix Suns. Below, we will dish out a betting preview of both contests.
Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
Start time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Point spread: Hornets -5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Heat (+185), Hornets (-225)
Total: Over 228.0 (-110), Under 228.0 (-110)
It has been 10 years since the Charlotte Hornets played in a postseason NBA game, so the Spectrum Center should be mighty loud Tuesday night.
The Hornets enter this game as the 9 seed in the East, while Miami sits in the 10 hole. Charlotte is a -5.5 favorite at Fanatics Sportsbook, and the game has a total of 228.0.
Miami won three-of-four regular season meetings between the two teams. That said, two of Charlotte’s losses to the Heat came before Thanksgiving, and Charlotte won the most recent meeting on March 17.
The Hornets scored a whopping 136 points in that March victory over the Heat, and were led by LaMelo Ball’s 30 points. There is a 6-foot-9-inch caveat with that game, however, as Miami’s Bam Adebayo missed the contest due to calf tightness.
The Hornets have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA of late, as they posted a 14-7 record from the start of March until the conclusion of the regular season. Erik Spoelstra’s Heat went just 11-10 in that time span.
The Hornets and Heat were two of the better teams against the spread this season. Charlotte was an NBA-best 50-32-0 ATS this season, while Miami was 46-36-0 ATS.
Interestingly enough, Charlotte had one of the worst Over records when it came to hitting totals. Hornets games went Over the number just 31 times during the regular season, and went Under 51 times. Miami went Over 46 times this season, and went Under 36 times.
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns
Start time/TV: 10 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Point spread: Suns -4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Trail Blazers (+140), Suns (-170)
Total: Over 217.0 (-110), Under 217.0 (-110)
Phoenix enters this game as the 7 seed in the West, while Portland owns the 8 seed. The Blazers have been the better team in recent weeks as they own a record of 13-8 since March 1. Phoenix is just 11-11 in that span.
The Suns went 2-1 against the Blazers this season, with Portland taking the latest game between the two on Feb. 22 (92-77 Portland). It must be noted, however, that the Suns were without leading scorer Devin Booker in the latest meeting, as he was nursing a hip strain.
Portland’s Jerami Grant scored 23 points in the Blazers’ win over the Suns. Grant has been out for Portland since March 27 with a calf strain, but he will try to suit up for the Blazers Tuesday night.
Both the Suns and Blazers have impressive records against the spread. Phoenix is 47-35-0 ATS, which is the third-best mark in the NBA. Portland is 44-38-0 ATS.
Suns games have gone Over the total 36 times so far this season, and 46 times Under the number. Portland has gone Over 42 times, and Under 40 times.
How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?
There are eight teams total that participate in the NBA Play-In Tournament, with four in the East and four in the West.
This year’s Eastern Conference Play-In teams are the 76ers (7 seed), Magic (8 seed), Hornets (9 seed), and Heat (10 seed). The Play-In teams in the West are the Suns (7 seed), Trail Blazers (8 seed), Clippers (9 seed), and Warriors (10 seed).
Teams that are 7 seeds face teams that are 8 seeds in the “first round.” Teams that are 9 seeds face teams that are 10 seeds, initially.
Teams that win the 7/8 game advance to the NBA Playoffs and will face 2 seeds in the first round of the traditional playoff field. The loser of the 7/8 game must play another Play-In game, against the winner of the 9/10 game.
For instance, let’s say the Suns beat the Blazers Tuesday night.
In that scenario, Phoenix would advance to the NBA Playoffs to face the 2 seeded Spurs. The Blazers would then have to play a second Play-In game, against the winner of the Clippers and Warriors.
Now let’s say the Warriors beat the Clippers. The Clippers are eliminated, as the loser of the 9/10 game goes home for the season.
The Warriors would then face the Blazers on Friday night in a second Play-In game.
Let’s say the Blazers win this game. In this scenario the Blazers would move on to face the 1 seeded Thunder in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Warriors would be eliminated.
