Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat – Breakdown and Prediction

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport

Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat: Who gets the last playoff spot in the East?

The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat will go into a battle for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference when they face each other on Friday night in Keseya Center in Miami .

The Bulls are coming off a comfortable win

The Chicago Bulls finished the season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-43 record. They are coming off a 131-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the Play-In Tournament. Coby White had a career night for the Bulls dropping 42 points. The Bulls are allowing the most three-point attempts per game in the league and are ranked third in committed turnovers. DeMar DeRozan leads the team with 24 points per game.

The Heat are in trouble

The Miami Heat finished the season in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 46-36 record. They failed just short against the Philadelphia 76ers, losing 105-104. The Heat are third in the league, allowing 108.4 points per game, and are ranked 12th, shooting 37% from the three-point line. Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro lead the team, averaging 20.8 points per game.

Betting Trends

The Bulls and the Heat have split the last ten games and five of the last ten have gone over the total point line. The Bulls have covered the spread in 6 of the last 10 games against the Bulls.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Miami Heat are having a real problem going into the win-or-go-home game against the Chicago Bulls. The defending Eastern Conference champions were so close to getting into the playoffs in the last game against the Sixers, but not that they just lost by a single point; they lost Jimmy Butler, who suffered a knee injury. Butler is the leader and the soul of this team, and the Heat will have a real challenge playing without him. The Bulls are also without a couple of players, as Lonzo Ball missed the entire season and Zach LaVine has probably played his last game in the Bulls uniform. However, the Bulls have already adapted to the circumstances, which is not the case for the Heat. They will need someone to step up in Butler’s position. His absence will be felt on the defensive end, where the Bulls have DeMar DeRozan, who will be the main figure in this game and will lead the Bulls to the playoffs and a matchup against the Boston Celtics in the opening playoff round.