Chicago Bulls (41-42) vs. Miami Heat (44-39)
April 14, 2023 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Miami Heat -5.5; Over/Under: +208
(Get latest betting odds)
The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat meet Friday in the East NBA Play-In at the Kaseya Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Chicago Bulls are averaging 113.1 points on 49 percent shooting and allowing 111.8 points on 46.8 percent shooting. Zach LaVine is averaging 24.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan is averaging 24.5 points and 5.1 assists. Nikola Vucevic is the third double-digit scorer and Patrick Williams is grabbing 4 rebounds. The Chicago Bulls are shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc and 80.9 percent from the free throw line. The Chicago Bulls are allowing 35.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.4 rebounds per game.
The Miami Heat are averaging 109.5 points on 46 percent shooting and allowing 109.8 points on 48.2 percent shooting. Jimmy Butler is averaging 22.9 points and 5.9 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo is averaging 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. Tyler Herro is the third double-digit scorer and Max Strus is grabbing 3.3 rebounds. The Miami Heat are shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc and 83.1 percent from the free throw line. The Miami Heat are allowing 36.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 40.6 rebounds per game.
The Bulls are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest. The Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Friday games. The over is 8-2 in Bulls last 10 Friday games. The over is 5-0 in Heat last 5 overall. The Bulls are 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Miami.
The Miami Heat are getting the benefit of the doubt because they’re at home with the rest advantage. However, against the Hawks, the Heat looked like a team that’s ready for the season to be over. Outside of Lowry, everybody looked terrible and they allowed 22 offensive rebounds. That’s an effort issue. The Chicago Bulls made a massive comeback to beat the Raptors when they could have easily rolled over, and there’s no quit in a lot of those guys. The Bulls have also beaten the Heat 3 times this season, with 2 of those meetings coming in Miami. Give me the points with the Bulls, a game they could easily win outright.
