76ers, Mavs look for better Game 2s

On Tuesday night we saw both NBA playoff series that played get evened up. The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors in what has been a great series so far and the Boston Celtics blew out the Milwaukee Bucks, returning a favor from Game 1.

Those series should go the distance or close to it. We can’t confidently say the same for the two series that resume Wednesday.

The Miami Heat, up 1-0 over the Philadelphia 76ers, are 8.5-point favorites at BetMGM for Game 2. The Phoenix Suns are 6.5-point favorites over the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns are also up 1-0. In Game 1 of each series, the favorites covered.

The 76ers have a good excuse for being blown out in the first game. Joel Embiid is out with an orbital fracture. He won’t play in Game 2. He could be back by Game 3, but that’s not certain. It’s a seven-game series and the further the 76ers fall behind, the less likely it will be that Embiid could bail them out even if he comes back. The 76ers desperately need James Harden to play much better than he did in Game 1. If he flops again, he’s going to get a lot of the grief for the 76ers’ failures. It might not matter even if Harden plays better; the Heat are a title contender that for some reason doesn’t get nearly the attention of practically any other team alive in the NBA playoffs.

In the West, the Mavericks got off to a miserable start in Game 1 and it’s tough to come back on the Suns, especially in Phoenix. They’re significant underdogs again in Game 2 but I have a tough time believing they can’t compete in the series. Of these two series, I think Mavs-Suns has the better chance to go six or seven games. The Mavericks were pretty good late in the season. It would be impressive if Phoenix dispatched the Mavs easily.

The zig-zag theory says to take both underdogs on Wednesday night. I have an easier time doing that with the Mavericks, though 8.5 points is a lot for Miami to lay. Let’s take the underdogs and hope to get some intrigue in each series.

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