Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls betting tips and predictions for Saturday’s NBA game. The 2nd best and 3rd best teams in the Eastern Conference square off in Chicago as the Bulls welcome the Miami Heat to town. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler lost to his former team the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-101 on Wednesday and tonight he takes on another team he played for in the Chicago Bulls. Butler had only 16 points and 8 rebounds against Minnesota as the Heat committed 21 turnovers in what was just their 2nd loss in the last 7 games. They’ll have to clean that up if they want to get anything out of tonight’s game against the Bulls. Speaking of the Bulls, Miami has a pretty good record against them in the last 10 meetings. The Heat have gone 7-3, including 6-1 SU in their last 7 visits to the United Center. There’s a ton of reasons for Heat fans to be optimistic for tonight’s game, their record vs East teams currently stands at 5-2 over their last 7 games. There is still no word on Markieff Morris, he has been out for quite a while now with a neck problem following his altercation with Nikola Jokic.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls recovered from two embarrassing losses back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets. The Pacers destroyed them by 32 points, while the Rockets ended a 15-game losing streak at their expense. However, the Bulls god a lucky break last night as they faced a injury depleted Orlando Magic team which they beat without any major problems 123-88. DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, while Zach LaVine added 21 and newly recovered Nikola Vucevic had 16 and 8 boards against his former team. As a team Chicago was impressive from the field shooting 55%, from three-point land they drained 17 of 34 attempts. The Bulls home record stands at 6-3 entering tonight’s game, they’ve covered the spread in 6 of those 9 games.
For some reason Chicago likes playing at home on a Saturday night, they’ve won 4 of their last 5 such games and enter tonight’s game as underdogs, mainly because of their poor showing against Houston the other night. That’s behind them now though, winning at the United Center isn’t as easy as it has been in previous years. I think they’ll have enough to inflict Miami their 2nd straight loss. Give me the Bulls and the free points in this one.
Chicago Bulls – Miami Heat Betting Odds
Chicago Bulls – Miami Heat Betting Tips
Chicago +1.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
Both teams take a lot of pride in defending the basketball this season. The Heat rank 2nd in opponent points allowing just 102.4 per game, while the Bulls are just 5 spots below them allowing 104.6 per game. At the United Center they are even better at 102.8 points per game allowed, so Miami could have a tough time scoring in this one. The 3 most recent meetings have averaged only 203.3 points per game and the two teams are shooting around 45% from the field in those games. Chicago’s home games have been going under the total quite frequent lately, with 13 of the last 17 cashing on that bet. Add to that the fact that 4 of their last 6 vs Eastern Conference teams have also gone under, I think we have a general idea of how things will play out tonight. Miami plays only the 26th fastest pace in the NBA and although the Bulls are 13th in this category, I think both teams will play a lot more in the half-court here as every possession will matter. Take the under.
Under 212 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
