Chicago Bulls (0-0) vs. Miami Heat (0-0)
October 19, 2022 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Miami Heat -6.5; Over/Under: +216.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat meet Wednesday in NBA action at the FTX Arena. The Chicago Bulls have lost 4 of their last 5 regular season openers. The Miami Heat have split their last 6 regular season openers.
The Chicago Bulls won 46 games last year and enter the third season under coach Billy Donovan. The Bulls have one of the best trios in the East in Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. Alex Caruso is healthy and ready to go, and the addition of Goran Dragic provides depth at point guard with championship experience. On paper, the Bulls are a solid team that can make noise in the East. However, the return of Lonzo Ball will be crucial, and after knee surgery there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to play at any point in the season despite optimism. Second year guard Ayo Dosunmu will be thrown into the fire a lot this year, and it’s crucial he takes that next step.
The Miami Heat won 53 games last year and enter the 15th season under coach Erik Spoelstra. The Heat were a shot away from the NBA Finals last year and pretty much bring back the same exact roster outside of PJ Tucker. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the 1-2 punch that carries the Heat, while Tyler Herro is looking for a starting role after just winning 6 man of the year. If the Heat are going to be back in the title mix, Duncan Robinson has to find his shot making ability and Kyle Lowry has to stay healthy. Of course, the x-factor is Victor Oladipo and if he can ever return to all star form. Spoelstra is the best coach in the league, and he makes chicken salad out of chicken poop more times than not. Time will tell if Miami has enough for another deep playoff run.
The Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 8-19 ATS in their last 27 games overall. The Heat are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 home games and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 Wednesday games. The under is 20-8 in Bulls last 28 overall. The under is 8-3 in Heat last 11 home games. The Bulls are 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
It’s hard to take the Chicago Bulls seriously in this spot when you consider they’re playing without Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine is questionable with a knee injury. The Miami Heat are healthy outside of Omer Yurtseven and Victor Oladipo, and they’re expected to play with more pace and a focus on offense this season. Because of the injuries on the Bulls, I like the Heat to pull away late in the third quarter. I’ll lay the reasonable chalk with the healthier side.
