On Wednesday night, the Sixers welcome the Miami Heat to the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers will be facing a depleted Heat squad. The Sixers fell to 15-13 on Monday night after getting curb-stomped by the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat lost in Cleveland on Monday night.

Let’s get into our Sixers vs. Heat betting pick with player prop predictions, odds, and analysis for this December 15, 2021 matchup.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK

States: LA, AZ, CO, IL, IN, IA, MI, NV, NJ, TN, WV, VA

GET THE APP

SIGNUP BONUS

1+ 3-POINTER!

BET $10, WIN $200

BET NOW

Sixers vs. Heat Betting Pick (December 15, 2021)

For the NBA fan, what COVID-19 has taken away more than anything else is the meaningful regular season game.

Make no mistake, that commodity has been in short supply for decades now. Once the league expanded the playoff field to sixteen teams, the unspoken truth was that unless your team was either in contention for the first seed in the conference or on the bubble of getting into the playoffs, most regular season games didn’t mean much at all. It’s worse now, of course, with the teams finishing seventh through tenth in each conference getting the chance to play into the main draw. Twenty teams each year will play some form of playoff basketball. The 82-game regular season probably never stood a chance.

COVID-19 has underscored the endlessness and insignificance of the regular season in ways no one could have foreseen. As I wrote this, the following headlines were featured on ESPN’s NBA page:

  • “KD carries depleted Nets with 7 now in protocols”
  • “Giannis put in protocols, ruled out for Wednesday”
  • “Short-handed Lakers have 3 in league’s protocols”
  • “NBA officials expect COVID uptick into January”
  • “NBA postpones next 2 Bulls games amid outbreak”

The Brooklyn Nets are presently leading the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Bulls are in second place in the conference, ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks by winning percentage. As for the Los Angeles Lakers, they’re treading water in sixth place in the Western Conference, but any team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on it is deserving of attention. Related: The Nets and Lakers are playing each other on Christmas night in prime time. Think about it, though: Do you really think both of those rosters are going to be intact in ten days? Is there any way you can be sure?

All of this makes it more difficult for the serious NBA follower to invest in the games, especially the ones featuring the playoff-bound teams. Tonight, the Sixers are hosting the Miami Heat and the Sixers’ old buddy, Jimmy Butler. Regrettably, Butler is out with an injured tailbone. The Sixers are 15-13 and the Heat is 16-12. Both teams are clinging to the spots directly above the play-in zone. Even in the early season, this game should have some meaning and some gravitas. But so many players are either questionable or out that however this game ends, it will tell you virtually nothing about where each team is headed.

From night to night, from week to week, no one ever seems to know who will be healthy, who will throw a hot test, who will end up in protocols…it’s very messy. And the loser is the NBA fan, who cannot fool himself or herself anymore. These games just don’t mean very much, and won’t until the pandemic is over.

Bet $10, Win $200 if your NBA team makes a three-pointer in its game with BetMGM when you click here.

Sixers vs. Heat Odds

Here’s the line for the Sixers and Heat at FanDuel Sportsbook:

  • Point Spread: Sixers -6.5 (-108), Heat +6.5 (+112)
  • Moneyline: Sixers -255, Heat +210
  • Total: 205

Bets We Like With a Sixers Win

Sixers to Win and Under 205 Total Points (+161, FanDuel Sportsbook)

FanDuel Sportsbook

Must 21+ and present in participating state. Gambling problem? Call 1 - 800 - GAMBLER.

CLAIM OFFER

SIGNUP PROMO

BET $5
GET $150

CLAIM NOW!

You sort of have to feel sorry for anyone who bought a ticket to this game. Joel Embiid is questionable, Seth Curry is questionable, Bam Adebayo and Butler are out. It’s going to look and feel like a preseason game, which wouldn’t be a problem except the face value on the ticket says it’s a regular season game. Anyway, the Sixers are quite likely to win the game, and while the Sixers should have no problem getting to 100 points, without two of their three top scorers, it’s hard to see the Heat doing that.

Click here to get a $1,000 risk-free first bet with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Bets We Like Independent of Outcome

Kyle Lowry Over 17.5 Points (-115, Caesars Sportsbook)

At 35 years of age, Lowry is not the same player he used to be. Well, hold on a minute. He is in some ways, in some ways he’s not. He’s not as explosive as he used to be, and he’s no longer the third or fourth offensive option as he was on the teams he won with. (That’s right – he was the third offensive option in Toronto behind Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam when they won that ring. You heard me.) Some things don’t change, though. He flops, he bitches and moans at referees, and he shoots it whenever he possibly can. Lowry is averaging an astonishing 11.2 field goal attempts this season, fourth on the Heat, behind Adebayo and ahead of Duncan Robinson. Lowry will beat this prop with volume more than with quality.

Click on your state in the list above to get a $1,001 free bet match from Caesars Sportsbook.

Dewayne Dedmon Over 8.5 Rebounds (+100, DraftKings Sportsbook)

DraftKings Sportsbook

21+ and present in participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

GET BONUS

SIGNUP BONUS

BET $5
GET $200

CLAIM OFFER

Of course it’s not just COVID-19 that’s turning this league into a shell of itself. Adebayo injured his thumb and will be out until sometime in January. Dedmon isn’t exactly a rebounding demon, but in the absence of Adebayo he’s what the Heat has. As I write this (just going to make that a control-v going forward), Embiid’s availability is in question. With Butler and Adebayo out, Dedmon will probably catch nine misses by accident.

Click here to Bet $1, Win $100 bonus if either team in your NBA, NFL, CBB, or CFB game scores a point with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Duncan Robinson Over 14.5 Points (-105, FOX Bet)

Robinson is a career 44% shooter from the field and his career percentage from the three-point line is 40.9%. So far this season, though, Robinson cannot seem to throw the ball into the Atlantic Ocean from the shoreline. He’s shooting 37.8% and 33.6% respectively. If Embiid and Seth Curry were healthier, the pick here would be under. They’re not, though, so figure on Robinson to pick up some of the scoring slack left from the absences of Butler and Adebayo. If there was ever a game for Robinson to get back on track, this is it.

Click here to get a $500 risk-free first bet from FOX Bet.

Sixers vs. Heat Prediction

Barstool Sportsbook

STATES: OH, MD, AZ, LA, CO, IL, IN, MI, PA, VA, NJ, TN, IA, WV

CODE:
CODE:
SIGNUP BONUS

$1,000

NEW PLAYER BONUS!

Some people will tell you that games like this one, where there is real uncertainty about how the teams will approach the game and who will play (and for how long) are where the real betting opportunities lie. Some people will also tell you that they prefer, like, bubble gum flavored ice cream to chocolate or vanilla. Don’t listen to those people. Games like this one are mainly opportunities to lose your shirt because uncertainty is everywhere, bordering on chaos. That said, I don’t think there is a path to the Sixers losing this game, and they really should be able to cover.

Pick: Sixers -7 (-110, Barstool Sportsbook)

Click here and use promo code BROAD1000 to get a $1,000 risk-free bet from Barstool Sportsbook.