For the 2nd consecutive season we have the Chicago Bulls battling the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. And just like last year, the two teams will decide who gets the 8th seed and a chance to play the Boston Celtics in the 1st Round of the playoffs. Chicago took care of Atlanta fairly easily in their 9 vs 10 match-up, behind a huge night from Coby White who had 42 points. Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan added 24 and 22 points respectively, the Bulls looked really good in that game. Whether or not that was due to Atlanta’s poor defense, we’ll find out on Friday. Even though the oddsmakers have the Bulls as 2.5 point underdogs, I am not of that opinion. Especially after Jimmy Butler’s knee injury which we don’t know the extent of just yet.
The two teams split the 4 regular season meetings, with Miami winning the most recent one back in mid-December. The Heat bottled their game against the 76ers, allowing Philadelphia to come back from 14 points down and win 105-104. Losing to Philly was a big blow, but an even bigger one would be if Butler’s knee injury turns out to be a serious one. The veteran swingman has missed 22 games this season due to various knocks and even though Miami is 13-9 SU in those games, they are nowhere near close to being the same team without their leader and best player. Playing at home also hasn’t been the most pleasant experience this year for the Heat as they finished the regular season just 22-19 SU at the Kia Center.
