Atlanta vs Miami | Game 2 Predictions & Betting Odds

The Atlanta Hawks looked tired and outmatched in the Eastern Conference playoff opener in Miami and look for a better effort on Tuesday in Game 2 also in South Florida. The Heat are solid favorites on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Hawks at Heat NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: FTX Arena
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Heat -7.5 (total 217.5)

Why Bet on Atlanta?

The Hawks looked very worn down in their 115-91 loss in Miami in Game 1 on Sunday. All-Star Trae Young shot 1-for-12 from the field (8.3%). That’s tied for his worst FG pct in a game in his career, including regular season and playoffs. Young also went 0-for-7 on 3-pt FG, tied for his 2nd-most misses without a make in a game in his career. Playing less than 40 hours after his spectacular second half against the Cavs, it wasn’t just the fatigue that caused Young to struggle so much. The ability of the Heat’s defense to switch caused a lot of problems for him in his worst game of the season.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was also ice cold during Sunday’s loss, scoring six points on 0-for-8 shooting. Before Sunday, he had hit at least three triples in four straight games and multiple 3-pointers in 12 of his last 13 games. John Collins played 21 minutes in his first game since March 11th, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. Collins’ return to action was a welcomed sight for the Hawks with Clint Capela out. And Capela won’t play here, either.

Onyeka Okongwu started in place of the injured Capela and finished with three points, seven rebounds and one block in 21 minutes. He’d been much better as a starter during the regular season, averaging 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 31.9 minutes in six starts.

There are so many peaks and troughs during an NBA season. The Hawks had a huge peak in their effort just to make it into the play-in tournament. They then face two must-win games which they were able to put both teams away.

“I don’t think it’s tired legs. I think Miami played at another level. We talked about that in our locker room. That, in the playoffs, there’s another level that you have to get to. They already play with a high-intensity, aggressiveness every possession. And they showed us that there’s another level that we have to get to in order to compete,” Coach Nate McMillan said.

The Hawks and Heat have met twice before in the playoffs, both in the first round, with Atlanta winning both series. The Hawks won 3-2 in the first round of the 1994 Playoffs and then again in the first round of the 2009 Playoffs, 4-3.

Why Bet on Miami?

Duncan Robinson set the Heat record for triples in a playoff game with eight as he scored 27 points on 9-for-10 shooting in Game 1. Robinson only missed one 3-pointer in this game. He’s hit 20 triples over his last four games. If he’s shooting this well, the Heat will be very difficult to beat. It’s been an up-and-down season for Robinson, but he’s been slowly building toward a performance like he put together on Sunday. He made 41 percent of his 3s in January, March and over five games in April.

“Duncan needed that,” Kyle Lowry said of Robinson’s performance. “For us, we need that as a team. We’re happy for him and we just gotta continue to build on it. For [Duncan], just continue to fire the ball like he was. We just need him to fire the ball and shoot the ball with the confidence he did tonight, because he shot the ball extremely confident tonight. Every shot he took looked good.”

Jimmy Butler had 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and played his usual good defense – although he was only 2-for-7 from the free throw line. After the win, Butler explained Miami’s approach to guarding Hawks star Trae Young, who struggled to make shots throughout the game. NBA teams averaged 24 shots made in the paint per game in the regular season. Miami held Atlanta to 23 shot attempts in the paint. With the Heat both sharp and physical during the competitive portion of the afternoon, Atlanta had zero answers.

“Just make it physical on him, challenge every shot, keep him off the free throw line and make him pass,” Butler said of Young.

The Heat probably won’t keep shooting 47% on 3-pointers (18-of-38). But Atlanta won’t necessarily improve a ton from its 28% outside shooting (10-of-36).

The Heat are the only team this season whose roster has at least one player representing each of the past three consecutive NBA championships. P.J. Tucker won the title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, Markieff Morris won the title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and Kyle Lowry won the title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Miami has won 28 playoff series in postseason history, recording a .596 winning percentage (28-19), the third-highest winning percentage in NBA history.

Game Trends

Hawks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Hawks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.
Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Heat are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Heat are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
Heat are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall