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The NBA regular season schedule came to an end on Sunday, May 16 to set the field for this year’s postseason run to a league championship.
While this week’s Play-In Round from May 18 through May 21 will determine the 7th and 8th seed in each conference, the best-of-seven matchups for No. 5 vs. No. 4 and the No. 6 vs. No. 3 pairings in the opening round have been set.
Starting in the Eastern Conference, the No. 6 Miami Heat will face the No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks in one of four conference quarterfinal series.
Heat vs. Bucks Betting Preview
Miami made it all the way to the NBA Finals last season with a 4-2 series victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat went on to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
This season, the Heat went 40-32 straight-up to finish nine games off the pace set by the East’s top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. They were 21-15 at home with a 19-17 record on the road.
Betting on Miami against the spread, it posted an overall record of 34-36-2. It went an even 24- 24-2 ATS closing as a favorite with a 9-12 record as an underdog. The total went OVER in 38 of its 72 games played.
The Bucks made it to the conference finals in 2019 and exited the playoffs in the conference semifinals in last season’s postseason run. Prior to that, they were eliminated in the opening round the previous two seasons.
Milwaukee was three games back in the East standings at 46-26 to earn the No. 3 seed. The team went 26-10 SU at home with a 20-16 record on the road.
This was a tough team to bet on over the course of the regular season at 32-40 ATS. An even 18-18 record at home complemented a 14-22 mark ATS in 36 road games. The Bucks were 32- 26 ATS in 68 games as favorites. They failed to cover in four games closing as underdogs.
Head-to-head between the two teams, Miami has the slight 6-4 edge both SU and ATS over the last 10 meetings. This includes the Heat’s stunning 4-1 series victory over Milwaukee in last season’s playoffs.
The Bucks won two of three meetings this season SU and ATS. The total stayed UNDER in the last two games between the two.
Heat vs. Bucks Betting Odds
The Bucks have been opened as -325 favorites in the series price odds for this matchup. Miami is a +270 underdog.
Milwaukee’s odds to go on and win the Eastern Conference title are +375 as the third team on the board behind Brooklyn (-105) and Philadelphia (+300). The Heat are next on the list at +1600 betting odds.
Heat vs. Bucks Betting Series Betting Prediction
Each of these teams finished the regular season on a strong note with SU 8-2 records over the final 10 games. My lean in this matchup is still towards Milwaukee as the better overall team.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the type of elite NBA player that can dominate a series. Miami’s team chemistry has not been as nearly consistent as last year’s conference title run.
The Bucks are also looking to avenge last year’s series loss to the Heat as favorites. This time around, look for Milwaukee to come away with the 4-2 series win.
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