The #1 Miami Heat are huge favorites at -350 odds to win the Eastern Conference semifinals when they battle the banged-up #4 Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers hears a little trash talk from Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat during the regular season. Embiid is out for the first two games of their postseason series. (Image: Mitchell Leff/Getty)

The Heat secured the #1 seed during a tight race for the top seed in the last month of the season. Four teams were jockeying for the #1 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs, but the Heat were able to hold everyone off, including the 76ers.

• Game 1: May 2 – 76ers at Heat
• Game 2: May 4 – 76ers at Heat
• Game 3: May 6 – Heat at 76ers
• Game 4: May 8 – Heat at 76ers
• Game 5: May 10 – 76ers at Heat
• Game 6: May 12 – Heat at 76ers
• Game 7: May 15 – 76ers at Heat

The Heat are +600 odds to win the 2022 NBA championship and are +180 odds to win the Eastern Conference crown for the second time in the last three seasons.

The 76ers are underdogs to upset the Heat and win the series at +270 odds. The 7ers are also the long shot on DraftKings’ futures board at +2500 odds to win the title.

Heat prime directive: win it all

The Heat didn’t break much of a sweat when they picked off the #8 Atlanta Hawks in five games. They shut down Trae Young, who was unable to lead the Hawks back to the East finals after last postseason’s magical run.

The Heat incurred a minor setback when they lost Kyle Lowry to a hamstring injury, Lowry won’t play in Game 1, but backup Gabe Vincent is ready to step into the starting lineup. The Heat also have a secret weapon with Victor Oladipo. He missed significant time over the last few seasons with injuries, but he provides an extra scoring boost the Heat might not need in this series against the short-handed 76ers.

“Whenever you’re dealing with a team that has to change a little bit, that immediately gets them a built-in sense of urgency,” said head coach Erik Spoelstra. “But again, what we’re trying to accomplish, it is so difficult. When you approach it that way, that just puts you there to compete at a high level, the necessary level that is going to be required.”

“Both rosters are going into this battle knowing that both sides got enough to get the job done,” said Jimmy Butler. “We’ve got a job to do. They’ve got a job to do. But I’m banking on the Miami Heat.”

A tenacious Butler led the Heat to a berth in the 2020 NBA Finals, but ran out of gas against LeBron James and the eventual champion LA Lakers. The Heat might have been ahead of schedule inside the NBA Bubble, but two seasons later, expectations are high. Bettors overlooked the Heat all season, and during this year’s playoffs, but the squad their eyes on the ultimate prize — an NBA championship.

Philly: sans Embiid

The 76ers knew they had a tough task ahead of them with a semifinals battle against the Miami Heat, but that was at full strength. After Joel Embiid went down, the 76ers face the arduous task of trying to stay competitive without an MVP candidate. Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and concussion in Game 6 of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors.

Embiid is currently in concussion protocol and, over the weekend, he was initially listed as out indefinitely with the orbital fracture. On Monday, the 76ers hinted that Embiid could play against the Heat in Game 3 or Game 4 when the series shifts from Miami to Philadelphia. He didn’t travel with the team to South Florida, so there’s zero chance he suits up in the first two games.

Without Embiid, the 76ers went 6-8 this season. Backup Paul Reed will see some extended action, but it’s all hands on deck against the Heat.

“The biggest adjustment is we don’t have Joel,” said Rivers. “There’s no good thing to it. They don’t care who we have on the floor.”

“It’s always adapting and figure out how the other teams is playing, what they’re taking away, what they’re allowing, and for us to capitalize in that regard,” said Tobias Harris.

The 76ers added James Harden at the trade deadline after they finally shipped out disgruntled point guard Ben Simmons. All eyes will be on Harden to pick up the scoring slack after the 76ers lost the NBA’s leading scorer. Embiid averaged 30.6 points and 11.7 rebounds this season. His PER rating of 31.24 was ranked #3 overall.

Check out more of OG’s coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.