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After defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks have claimed the eighth seed and will take on the first-seeded Miami Heat in the first round.
The Atlanta Hawks were able to overcome a ten-point halftime deficit behind Trae Young's 38-points and nine-assist performance. Now, they'll have their sights on a much more difficult task, in which they'll need the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter to step up to have a chance. With Clint Capela out for, at least, a week, the Atlanta Hawks will have to find a way to make up for his 11.9 rebounds per game. John Collins is planning to return for Game 1, and his 16.2 points per game will be a welcome sight for Hawks fans.
The Miami Heat finished as the top seed in the East and have won the most games in a season since 2013-14, back when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were their stars. Now All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will look to lead this exciting team deep into the playoffs. The Heat are one of the best defensive teams in the league, finishing the season with a 108.4 Defensive Rating, good for the fourth-best mark in the league. Expect the Miami Heat to buckle down even more so in the playoffs, led by one of the best coaches in the league in Erik Spoelstra.
Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks Betting Odds
The Miami Heat won the season series 3-1; however, the last three meetings were all close contests decided by six or fewer points. Homecourt advantage should play a big role in this series, given that Miami was a dominant 29-12 at home, while Atlanta struggled away from State Farm Arena, going just 16-25 on the road. Miami went 3-1 against the spread, and the total also went over in three of the four games.
Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks Picks
Bogdan Bogdanovic was a huge reason why the Atlanta Hawks made it all the way to the conference finals last year. He averaged 2.7 threes made on 7.3 attempts this year and is a dark horse candidate to lead the series in threes.
Pick 1: Bogdan Bogdanovic Series Leader (3s Made) +450
Jimmy Butler isn't usually praised for his passing ability; however he is a more than capable playmaker, having averaged 7.1 and 5.5 assists per game in the last two seasons. He should receive more touches in the playoffs and be the primary ball handler for the Heat down the stretch of games.
Pick 2: Jimmy Butler Over 4.5 assists (-140) Game 1
Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks Prediction
Miami's experience and playoff pedigree should be more than enough to beat the Hawks in five games or less. The Atlanta Hawks are a resilient bunch and should fight game in and game out, but ultimately, the Heat's talent and depth, including likely sixth man of the year Tyler Herro, should handle a Hawks team missing their second-best player in Clint Capela for, at least, a week. The Hawks could win one of their two games at home, but the Heat should win in five, making it a gentleman's sweep.
Prediction: Miami Heat 4-1 (+220)
