Written by Rohit Ghosh
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Miami Heat v. Brooklyn Nets: Game 2

After the Miami Heat destroyed the Brooklyn Nets in game one of their best-of-seven series, Dwyane Wade was quoted saying, “Regular seasons don't even matter.” Miami was 0-4 vs Brooklyn during the regular season. Game one was a whole different story as they beat them by 21 points (107-86). Miami used a balanced team effort in the season opener, shooting 57 percent from the field as a team. LeBron James finished with a pedestrian 22 points. Since neither James or Wade have lost a playoff series after going up 2-0, game two in Miami already has a certain feeling of urgency for Brooklyn.



AccuScore has the Miami Heat as solid 78.3 percent favorites to win game two of their best-of-seven series against the Brooklyn Nets. The average score after 10,000 simulations is 102-94.

Miami Heat Betting Trends

•The Heat are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 5 games.
•The Heat are 5-0 straight up (SU) in their last 5 games.
•The total has gone OVER in 4 of the Heat’s last 5 games.
•The Heat are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games at home.
•The total has gone OVER in 4 of the Heat’s last 5 games at home.
•The Heat are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when playing the Nets.
•The Heat are 14-4 SU in their last 18 games when playing the Nets.
•The Heat are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing the Nets.
•The Heat are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games when playing at home against the Nets.
•The Heat are 9-2 SU in their last 11 games when playing at home against the Nets.
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the Heat’s last 6 games when playing at home against the Nets.

AccuScore’s Super computer has star-rated picks against the spread and on Over/Unders every other NBA playoff game with free live odds. See: NBA Playoffs Odds and Expert Picks

Brooklyn Nets Betting Trends

•The Nets are 4-8-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 13 games.
•The total has gone OVER in 5 of the Nets’ last 7 games.
•The Nets are 4-7-1 ATS in their last 12 games on the road.
•The Nets are 2-5 straight up (SU) in their last 7 games on the road.
•The total has gone OVER in 6 of the Nets’ last 7 games on the road.
•The Nets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games when playing the Heat.
•The Nets are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing the Heat.
•The Nets are 4-14 SU in their last 18 games when playing the Heat.
•The Nets are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games when playing on the road against the Heat.
•The Nets are 2-9 SU in their last 11 games when playing on the road against the Heat.
•The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the Nets’ last 6 games when playing on the road against the Heat.

Projected Leaders

LeBron James: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists
Chris Bosh: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block
Dwyane Wade: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Deron Williams: 14 points, 7 assists, 1 steal
Joe Johnson: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Paul Pierce: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Balanced Attack

Miami had five players in double figures in game 1. Having role players have big nights will just result in a sweep if Brooklyn doesn’t step it up defensively. Opposing teams know James, Wade and Bosh will do enough to keep the game competitive; the goal for the defense is to contain the role players and not let them hit big shots. On the flip side, outside of Joe Johnson and Deron Williams who combined to shoot 14-21 in game 1, the rest of the roster had very little positive impact. The rest of the team shot 19-49. Potentially the scariest stat for the offense is that they haven’t shot 50 percent or higher in 12 of their previous 13 games. Brooklyn just hasn’t been able to find scoring production easily.The Nets will surely get more from the likes of Paul Pierce in game 2.

Fourth Quarter Struggles

Whether it’s a sign of age or just lack of focus, Brooklyn has struggled all season in late game situations. Whereas Miami is No. 4 in the league in fourth quarter margin (+1.5), Brooklyn is ranked a miserable No. 26 in the league (-1.3). Through three quarters, Brooklyn has averaged a positive point differential. Bettors and game projectors expect game two to be much more competitive than game one, but numbers don’t lie as the stat shows the Nets’ inability to keep the momentum up in the fourth quarter.

Kings James vs The Truth

According to Basketball Reference, in the 26 games LeBron James (14-12) and Paul Pierce (12-14) have matched up, Pierce has averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists. James has averaged 29 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists. James does have an average of 4.1 turnovers over this sample size of games.