Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs gets continues on Tuesday night and we will see the Brooklyn Nets travel to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat in game 1 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Heat listed as 7.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 193.
Stat Packs: Many thought that the Brooklyn Nets had a good shot at upsetting the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs, and many were right as the Nets did just that in a thrilling 7 game series. Now they turn their attentions to a Miami team that they swept this year (4-0). The Nets went just 17-27 on the road this year, but did win both games played at Miami. The Nets averaged just 98.5 ppg on the year overall, and vs the Raptors they averaged 97.7 ppg on a solid 46.1% shooting. In the Playoffs, Joe Johnson has led the team in scoring with 20.8 ppg, while Deron Williams (17.8 ppg) and Paul Pierce (14.0 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Andray Blatche leads the team in boards (5.8 rpg), while Williams has led them in assists (5.8 apg). On the defensive end of the floor the Nets have been solid this allowing just 99.4 ppg during the regular season and were even better vs the Raptors, allowing them just 96.1 ppg on 44.1% shooting.
The Miami Heat came into the playoffs as the #2 seed in the East and they played just like on in their opening series vs the Bobcats, ousting them in 4 games. Now they take on a Nets team that they struggled with this year, losing all 4 games the teams played. Still Miami has gone 34-9 on their home floor this year. The Heat averaged solid 102.1 ppg overall this year and were the top shooting team in the league, connecting on 50.1% of their shots. Against the Bobcats they scored 101.8 ppg on 47.7% shooting. In the playoffs the offense is led by whoever but Lebron James, who is averaging 30.0 ppg so far, while also leading the team in Rebounding (8.0) and assists (6.0), Dwayne Wade (17.5 ppg) and Chris Bosh (14.5 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Heat so far in the playoffs. Defensively the Heat were are a solid bunch this year, allowing just 97.4 ppg (5th) on 45.7% shooting (16th) and vs the Bobcats in the opening series they allowed just 92.0 ppg on 44.9% shooting.
Pick: I really see this one as a blowout. Miami has been lying in wait as they won their series in 4 games, while the Nets were in a grueling 7 game series with the Raptors. Another reason I see this is an easy win is the fact that the Nets won all 4 regular season games played between these teams and you can bet that Miami will look to make a statement here in game one. If the Nets are able to keep it close or win game 1, then they will have confidence the rest of the series due to the regular season results, and Miami will not let that happen. The heat have gone 34-9 on the home floor, while the Nets went 17-27 on the road this year. Miami is 21-8-1 ATS in their last 30 Conference Final games and they should add to that here with a win of at least 12 points.
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