76ers vs. Heat odds, prediction, time: 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament picks, April 17 best bets by proven model

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The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten hot at just the right moment as they take an eight-game winning streak into Wednesday’s Eastern Conference Play-In game against the Miami Heat. The 8-seed Heat (46-36), who have won two in a row, have won two of three postseason series against Philadelphia, including a 4-2 win over it in the 2022 East semifinals. The 7-seed 76ers (47-35), who finished third in the Atlantic Division, are 25-16 on their home court. The teams split four games during the regular season with both teams winning one home and one road game. Joel Embiid (knee) is listed as questionable, while Miami lists Terry Rozier (neck) as out.

The game from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia will tip off at 7 p.m. ET. Philadelphia is averaging 114.6 points per game,

NBA DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Wednesday, Apr. 17 include Dejounte Murray

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Three of the four teams in the East portion of the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament were also in this position a year ago. Miami, Atlanta and Chicago were play-in participants in 2023, making the NBA Play-In Tournament 2024 the debut in this event for Philadelphia. With a playoff-like atmosphere, should NBA DFS lineups turn to stars like Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as they take on Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Miami? That will be a popular NBA DFS strategy, but one should, perhaps, proceed with caution in regards to Embiid.

In his MVP season last year, Embiid averaged 33.1 points in the regular season but just 23.7 points in the postseason. Yes, he was banged up during the playoffs, but that’s also the same case this year. Bypassing Embiid for daily Fantasy basketball