Chicago Bulls (39-43) at Miami Heat (46-36)
Game Info: Friday, April 19th, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. EST (Kaseya Center)
Betting Odds: Heat -1.5 (-115) - Over/Under (206.5)
Pick: Heat -1.5 (-115)
The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat will meet here on Friday night in Miami to determine the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs and set up a first round matchup with the Boston Celtics. Chicago is coming off of a victory earlier this week and Miami is coming off of a tough loss and both teams will look to grab a season saving victory here in this one with the loser heading home for the year. Both of these teams certainly have a talented roster that are very deserving of playoff basketball, but only one of them can advance and it’ll be the team that comes out on top here in this one.
The Chicago Bulls put together a rather underwhelming season with players like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine on their roster. However, injury issues hurt the Chicago Bulls a lot throughout the season, and that is something they will look to overcome as they try and find a way to clinch a playoff spot with a victory here on Friday night in Miami. They picked up a surprising victory in the opening play-in game and they look to keep that momentum rolling and grab a second consecutive victory to advance to the first round of the postseason against the Boston Celtics.
Earlier this week Chicago was able to grab a commanding 15 point victory against Trae Young in the Atlanta Hawks at home to send Atlanta packing for the season. It was Coby White who is the star of the show for Chicago earlier this week dropping 42 points and DeMar DeRozan added 22 of his own to keep the Chicago Bulls season alive heading into Friday. Now they will both look to record similar performances throughout this game against Miami as they look to clinch their spot against Boston. This team finished the regular season with plenty of momentum, winning two out of their last three and now three out of their last four as it is seemingly carried over into the postseason.
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With players like Jimmy Butler on their roster, the Miami Heat still managed to put together an average season and they will look to find a way into the postseason with a victory here on Friday. Despite the underwhelming year from Miami, they have been known to turn up the heat in previous seasons when the postseason came around. They have been sort of a kryptonite for the Boston Celtics over the last several seasons and if they pick up the victory here on Friday night against Chicago, they will face off with Boston in round number one.
They made a run all the way to Eastern conference finals last season, and that is something they will look to replicate throughout this postseason and it starts with grabbing a win here in this one at home. Jimmy Butler did pick up a bit of an injury in their loss earlier this week and it’ll be unknown if he will be at full go for this game against Chicago, which could hamper Miami throughout this contest. However, even without Jimmy Butler at 100% players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo should be able to do enough to get the job done for the Heat against a lackluster and shorthanded Chicago team.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Chicago is 19-22 on the road
- Miami is 22-19 at home
- Miami is 32-20 against the East
I looked for Miami to take control of this game throughout the opening part of the contest and put Chicago in an early hole heading into the halftime break. I look for the Miami Heat to take full control of this game by the time the final buzzer sounds and pick up a solid and somewhat convincing victory over Chicago to bounce back from their loss earlier this week and clinch the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the win, it would put Miami up against Boston in the opening round and they had the advantage over the Celtics over the last few years so Miami will be extra motivated to grab a victory here on Friday night against the Bulls. Not only do I look for Miami to grab the win, I also look for them to spread in the process.
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