The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Wednesday night and we will see Charlotte Bobcats travel to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat in game 2 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 10.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 186.
Stat Packs: The Charlotte Bobcats come in as the 7th seed in the East after going 43-39 on the year. Not bad for a team that won less than 30 games the two previous years combined. In game one the Bobcats played the Heat tough for 3 quarters before Miami walked out with the 99-88 win. The Bobcats are now just 18-24 on the road this year and are 1-6 ATS the last 7 in this series. The Bobcats have averaged just 96.9 ppg (23rd) on 44.2% shooting (25th) on the year. The offense is led by Al Jefferson, who averages 21.7 ppg, while also leading the team in rebounding, at 10.8 rpg. Kemba Walker (17.7 pg), Gerald Henderson (14.0 ppg) and (11.2 ppg) also average in double figures for the Bobcats. On defense this is a very solid team that ranks 4th in points allowed (97.1 ppg) and 6th in defensive FG% (44.2%), but they have had issues defending the Arc, allowing teams to hit 36.9% from long range, which is 24th in the league.
For the Miami Heat, they come in as the second seed in the East with a 55-28 record, while also going 33-9 on their home floor this year. The Heat have shown all year they can turn it on when they want and they did so as well in game 1 as the let the Bobcats hang around before bursting out to a 20 point lead in a short period of time. Miami did win by 11 to take game one of this series. The Heat come in averaging a solid 102.2 ppg, which is 12th in the league. They are, though, the top shooting team in the league, hitting 50.1% of their shots from the field. The offense is led by whoever but Lebron James, who is averaging 27.1 ppg on the year. He also leads the team in assists (6.4) and rebounding (6.9). Dwayne Wade is 2nd in scoring (19.0 ppg). Chris Bosh (16.2 ppg) rounds out the double digit scorers for this team. Defensively the Heat are a solid bunch, as they allowed just 97.4 ppg (5th) on 45.7% shooting (16th). Miami has dominated this series, winning the last 16 in a row vs the Bobcats.
Pick: Im gonna go right back with the Heat. For much of game 1 the game was much close than the heat would have liked, but they showed what they can they do when they turn it on as a 3 points lead went to 20 in a blink of an eye. I don't see them coming out slow in this one. Miami has too much talent and would like to show that their struggles down the stretch of the regular season are a distant memory. Look for a 15+ point by Miami here.
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NBA Playoff Update #1
Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com, give his thoughts on how the NBA playoffs have gone so far and what to look for in the future.