The NBA playoffs are officially here and should be nothing less than entertaining! To kick off the Sunday slate, the eight-seeded Miami Heat will travel north to take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Join us for our NBA odds series, where our Heat-Bucks prediction and pick will be revealed.

Finishing the regular season with a 44-38 record, the Heat avoided disaster by putting on a show in the final minutes of their play-in game on Friday to officially eliminate the Chicago Bulls and punch their ticket to a showdown with the top team in the NBA. During the season, the teams split their four matchups 2-2.

Without a doubt, it is championship or bust for Milwaukee, as the Bucks will begin their playoff run on Sunday with an attempt to bring home a second Larry O'Brien Trophy in three seasons. After compiling a 58-24 record and capturing the No. 1overall seed in the postseason, the road to a title will have to go through Milwaukee.

Here are the Heat-Bucks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NBA Odds: Heat-Bucks Odds

Miami Heat: +9.5 (-110)

Milwaukee Bucks: -9.5 (-110)

Over: 218.5 (-110)

Under: 218.5 (-110)

How To Watch Heat vs. Bucks

TV: TNT

Stream: TNT App

Time: 5:30 ET/2:30 PT

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Heat Could Cover The Spread

Despite not being able to win the first play-in game, the Heat buckled down and took care of business against Chicago with their backs against the wall. Clearly, Miami will be in for the fight of their lives in this series as massive underdogs, but they are very capable of covering the spread once they step onto the hardwood Sunday afternoon.

For starters, Miami's main priority from the opening tip needs to be to get off to a fast start. Not only will this take an energetic Milwaukee crowd out of its element, but give the shooting-challenged Heat confidence to continue knocking down jumpers for a full 48 minutes. Not to mention, Miami has become quite familiar with the Bucks over the years as the teams have faced off twice in the last three postseasons. Alas, the Heat are keeping their fingers crossed that familiarity with Milwaukee could help them mightily in the tense moments of game one.

Above all else, it will end up being extremely important for Miami to get the best play from their dynamic trio in Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero. When all three of these playmakers are at the peak of their game, the Heat are much more dangerous.

Why The Bucks Could Cover The Spread

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Chasing the Boston Celtics a majority of the season before embarking on a whopping 16-game winning streak, the Bucks spent zero time looking back once they started clicking on all cylinders.

At first glance, the Bucks were quite impressive in terms of covering the spread during the regular season, as Milwaukee tallied a 44-36 record ATS en route to their exceptional campaign. Not only did the Bucks become accustomed to covering the spread, but they also possess the top defense in all of the land.

Over the rich history of the NBA, it has been proven time and time again that defense wins championships, and that is exactly what Milwaukee brings to the table in this postseason. The Bucks held opponents to only 45% shooting from the field, so contesting Miami's shots and giving them no room to breathe on the offensive end of the floor will be critical. Of course, it always helps to have a Defensive Player of the Year finalist in Brook Lopez down low as well.

Believe it or not, while Giannis Antetokounmpo will be tough to stop if you're a member of the Miami Heat, the biggest X-Factor for the Bucks in this opening game of the series will be on the shoulders of Jrue Holiday. On the season, Holiday averaged 19.3 points and dished out 7.4 assists per game contest. With that being said, someone other than Giannis will need to step up in the scoring department for the Bucks to cover, so keep an eye out for Holiday to hit some big-time buckets down the stretch of game one.

Final Heat-Bucks Prediction & Pick

There is no doubt the Heat have some vast playoff experience, including an NBA Finals run in the 2020 bubble, but the Bucks will most likely set the tone in this one with their excellent play at home and the fact they will be plenty rested.

Final Heat-Bucks Prediction & Pick: Bucks -9.5 (-110)