NBA: Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat Preview, Odds, Prediction

The battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference will see one very interesting battle this Monday night, with the Chicago Bulls visiting the Miami Heat. The guests are currently the second in the East, slightly behind the Heat, and that is why this event has such high importance. This is the first match for the Bulls on the road after a while, and it could be a big test for Billy Donovan’s crew. Meanwhile, the Heat has three wins in a row, awaiting the rivals in high spirits.

Preview

Chicago Bulls (39-22, +140) had six straight events until losing to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, 116-110. During this stretch, they would beat the Timberwolves, Hornets, Kings, Spurs, Thunder, and the Hawks. That was mostly due to DeMar DeRozan, who was unreal posting numbers that made him one of the NBA MVP candidates.

DD couldn’t play at the same level against the Grizzlies, scoring “only” 31 points, shooting terrible 10-for-29 from the field, which is far below his usual percentage. Zach LaVine had 28 points with six assists, while Coby White added 15 with five dimes and four boards off the bench.

The Bulls couldn’t stop Ja Morant who scored 46 points, and that was the difference on Saturday. Also, the Grizzlies had absolute control on the glass with 61 boards, 20 more than the hosts. They scored 62 points from the paint as well.

Miami Heat (40-21, -175) won eight of the last nine games, triumphing in both contests following the All-Star break. The first was over the Knicks in New York, 115-100, and the second against the Spurs in Florida, 133-129.

The latter was a very amusing clash, which saw a high number of points and an extremely interesting second half. In the end, the Heat edged out the rivals, with Bam Adebayo leading the way with 36 points, shooting 14-for-21 from the field. He was unstoppable on the offensive side, and was there to create a lot of damage.

Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro scored 27 points each, 18-for-30 combined, while Kyle Lowry posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Gabe Vincent contributed with 12 buckets off the bench as well, playing 28 minutes.

Head to Head Games

The Bulls and the Heat met twice this year, with the team from Miami winning on both occasions. The first matchup was in Chicago, where the guests managed to squeeze out a narrow victory, 107-104. The game in Miami ended much comfortably for the Heat, 118-92, not having any particular problems for beating the rivals.

Prediction

We can expect to see one pretty interesting battle at the American Airlines Arena, but in our opinion, the hosts will come out on the winning side. The reason for such a pick is the fact that they have several very good players in the backcourt positions, who are excellent on both ends, meaning that they know to play excellent defense, not just offense. So, a deeper roster plus more gifted guards and forwards is why we believe the Heat have more chances to post another triumph.

Pick: Miami wins

Here is the preview for the San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies game.