The Chicago Bulls take their act to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat in a Wednesday encounter at the American Airlines Arena.
At 11-39 on the season entering Tuesday’s games, the Chicago Bulls are one of the worst teams in the league this season. Chicago’s struggles can be traced to their terrible offense which produces only 101.1 points per game, 29th among 30 teams in the league. The Bulls are also just 27th in the NBA in field goal shooting at 44.2%.
Zach Lavine has been one of the bright spots in the Windy city. Lavine is averaging 22.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his best season ever. Lauri Markkanen is scoring 17.1 points and grabbing 7.4 rebounds per game while Kris Dunn leads the team in assists at 6.5 per game while also contributing 12.0 points per game.
Chicago is the second lowest scoring squad in the league at 101.1 points per game. The Bulls are ranked 27th in passing at 21.6 assists per game and also 27th off the glass at 41.8 rebounds per game. Chicago has the 16th best scoring defense in the NBA at 111.0 points per game allowed.
Like The Bulls, the Miami Heat have had their share of offensive woes. But Miami’s shortcomings on offense can be linked to the absence of Goran Dragic who continues to be on the injured list. But the Heat have been able to pull even at 24-24 on the season behind its elite defense which is ranked in the Top 5 in both points allowed and opponents’ field goal percentage.
With Dragic sidelined, Josh Richardson leads Miami in scoring at 17.5 points per game while also averaging 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.13 steals per game. Hassan Whiteside is having a fine double-double season with 12.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game while the Heat’s original superstar Dwyane Wade is chipping in 13.8 points and 4.8 assists in his final NBA season.
Miami is ranked 26th in the league in team scoring at only 105.7 points per game. As we said earlier though, they make up for that shortcoming by allowing their opponents to score just 105.5 points per game which is the 4th best scoring defense in the entire NBA. The Heat are also ranked 18th in passing at 23.7 assists per game and 9th in rebounding at 46.6 boards per contest.
Chicago is 1-9 SU in their last 10 games played. The Bulls are 1-5 SU in six road games during that period. Miami is 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. The Heat are 2-2 SU in four games at the American Airlines Arena during that stretch. Head to head, the Heat are 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Bulls.
There’s nothing much to talk about the Bulls except that their offense has been awful this season and that’s the main reason why they have not only lost nine out of their last 10 games but why they have one of the worst records in the league. When we talk about the Heat on the other hand, we know that their strengths are bench scoring and defense.
Miami’s bench has been one of the best in the league in the last couple of months. In their last 30 games, the Heat reserves have outscored their counterparts in 24 games, scoring 50 or more points in 12 instances and averaging 47.6 points per game during that stretch. They also outscored the opposing team’s bench by an average of 14.0 points per game during that stretch. The bench is led by Dwyane Wade, who is still productive in his final NBA season. Wade is expected to put up a show against his former team.
Defensively, the Heat have limited 17 of their last 21 opponents to below their season scoring average and Miami is 15-2 when holding their opponents below 100 points this season. 100 should be the key number in this game as Chicago has averaged just around that in their last eight games. Faced against a stout Miami defense, the Bulls could easily score much fewer points.
Miami is just 11-13 SU at home but the Bulls are just 6-19 SU on the road. Entering Tuesday’s matchup against Brooklyn, Chicago is 1-6 SU in their last seven road games. I’m picking the Miami Heat to beat the Chicago Bulls on 1/30/19.
The Bulls are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games played including 2-3-1 ATS in six road games during that period. The Heat are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played. Miami is 2-2 ATS in four home games over that stretch. Head to head, the Bulls are 4-2 ATS in their last six games versus the Heat.
Chicago is 1-4 ATS in their last five games while playing on zero days rest. The Bulls are 0-5 ATS in their last five Wednesday games and 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Heat are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games played on two days rest, 14-5 ATS in their last 19 Wednesday games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage of below .400. Six of Chicago’s last 10 losses have come via 12 points or more including a 103-117 loss to Miami last January 20th. I don’t see a different result this time around. Prediction: Heat -10.5
The under is 30-19-1 in the Bulls’ 50 games played this season. The over is 4-2 in Chicago’s last six road games played. On the other hand, the under is 7-3 in the Heat’s last 10 games played. The over is 9-4 in the Heat’s last 13 games against their Eastern Conference rivals. Head to head,the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams..
The under is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these teams in Miami. Chicago is one of the worst scoring teams in the league right now and have averaged 102.13 points per game in their last eight games played. The Heat have one of the top defenses in the NBA, allowing just 100.2 points per game in their last five wins. Prediction: Under 207.5
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