Wednesday night NBA Playoff action and we will see the Brooklyn Nets take on the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. This is game 5 of their best of 7 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 point favorites, while the total sits at 189.
Analysis: The Nets are in a 3 games to one hole to the Heat and taking to the road is not the best remedy for them to get back on track here. The Nets have gone just 17-29 on the road this year and while they did win two regular season games at Miami, the post season has been different, as they lost the two games in Miami by 21 and 12 points. In the playoffs the Nets have averaged just 95.6 ppg, including just 92 ppg vs Miami. Joe Johnson has led the team in playoff scoring with 20.0 ppg, while Deron Williams (14.3 ppg) and Paul Pierce (13.2 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Kevin Garnett leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg), while Williams has led them in assists (6.0 apg). On the defensive end of the floor the Nets have been solid this year allowing just 99.4 ppg during the regular season and they have been a bit better in the playoffs so far, allowing just 96.9 ppg on 46.6% shooting.
The Miami Heat came into the playoffs as the #2 seed in the East and they are playing like it so far, sweeping the Bobcats in 4 games and taking a 3-1 lead over the Nets in round 2. 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, but have been a bit worse in the playoffs scoring just 100.0 ppg on 49.4% shooting. In the playoffs the offense has been led by whoever but Lebron James, who is averaging 30.1 ppg so far and scored 49 points in game 4 on Monday night. Lebron also leads the team in rebounding (6.8) and assists (4.6). Dwayne Wade (16.6 ppg) and Chris Bosh (14.4 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Heat so far. Defensively Miami was a solid bunch this year, allowing just 97.4 ppg (5th) on 45.7% shooting (16th) and they have been much better in the playoffs, allowing just 92 ppg on 45.6% shooting.
Pick: I made this play twice already in the playoffs and so far it is 2-0. I am going to suggest teasing the Heat Down to 2 and the Spurs down to 3 in a 5 point teaser. Both teams have dominated these series' in the playoffs on their home floors and with both looking for the knockout punch i just can't see anything different here. Both teams should cover the low teaser spreads for sure.
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LVH Super Contest Update
Steve Fezzik from Pregame.com gives an update on the LVH Super Contest with a prediction on how many entries he feels there will be.