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The Chicago Bulls will travel to FTX Arena to take on the Miami Heat Wednesday in the season opener for both teams. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Bulls are coming into this season with high expectations, but they may need to be tempered to start with several players injured in their star-studded backcourt.
Chicago did add C Nikola Vucevic prior to the 2021 trade deadline, and he has added both rebounding and spacing to the offense. G DeMar DeRozan is the key offensive weapon and was an MVP candidate last season.
The Heat, on the other hand, made the conference finals last season, but lost to Boston in 7 games. Miami will once again be led by F Jimmy Butler.
C Bam Adebayo is poised to make another big jump on both ends of the court as well. The Heat didn’t make any big-name additions and have 1 of the best defensive rosters in the NBA.
Bulls at Heat odds
- Moneyline (ML): Bulls +245 (bet $100 to win $245) | Heat -320 (bet $320 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bulls +7.5 (-108) | Heat -7.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 216.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Bulls at Heat key injuries
Bulls
- G Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- G Alex Caruso (calf) probable
- G Zach LaVine (knee) questionable
Heat
- G Victor Oladipo (knee) out
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Bulls at Heat picks and predictions
Prediction
Heat 109, Bulls 105
Moneyline
PASS.
I do see some reason to back the Bulls moneyline here at the juicy +245, but considering you can get 7.5 points on the spread, that’s the better route to take.
Against the spread
LEAN BULLS +7.5 (-108).
The Heat were more prone to turn the ball over a season ago, and that could lead to some extra opportunities for Chicago.
Also, the Bulls have more unknowns regarding them with G Ayo Dosunmu and F Patrick Williams, both of which could step up as early as Wednesday.
On the other side, the Bulls have DeRozan who will be the best scorer on the court and can hit difficult isolation shots which makes him tough to guard, much like F Jayson Tatum who beat up the Heat in the playoffs.
The Heat also don’t have great backcourt depth and could rely on F Caleb Martin and G Kyle Lowry for production as well which could backfire on them.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 216.5 (-115).
The Bulls were good offensively and bad defensively last season, but their effective field goal rate sat 10th in the league and their offensive rating was outside of the top 10.
The Heat ranked 4th in the NBA in defensive rating and bring back Adebayo and Butler, 2 key defenders who are consistently up for All-Defensive team nominations.
The Bulls could be without a star guard and 2 other key backcourt players, both of which had shown improvement on the offensive end. Without Oladipo, the Heat’s playmaking could be limited as well.
Chicago was just 40-45-2 O/U last season as well.