The Miami Heat (33-26) take on the visiting Chicago Bulls (30-28) at AmericanAirlines Arena. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 1 and can be seen on NBA, CSC and SUN.
The Heat were victorious over the Knicks 98-81 on Sunday. Dwyane Wade was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points on 9-for-20 shooting. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off a 103-95 loss against the Trail Blazers on Saturday. Pau Gasol put up one of the better games this year, accumulating a triple-double with 22 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists.
Hassan Whiteside has been playing at a high level over the last five games for the Heat. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.8 points, 16.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 4.0 blocks. Gasol has also been hot in the same span, averaging 17.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.8 blocks while leading the Bulls.
Scoring opportunities from the charity stripe may be sporadic for the Bulls in this one. They’re 26th in the league in free throw attempt rate (24.3), while Miami is among the NBA’s least foul-prone teams (yielding a rate of 23.8, ranking second overall).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first matchup 89-84. Wade scored a game-high 28 points.
The Heat come into this game 33-26 Straight Up (SU) and 31-27-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 33-26 SU and 31-27-1 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. The Miami defense has been very good, only giving up 96.7 points per game. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Heat, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .437. An area where the Heat are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 34.8 defensive rebounds per game, fifth in the NBA.
In the other locker room, Chicago has a SU record of 30-28 and an ATS record of 23-35. Most recently, Chicago is 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games. Teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Bulls, who are the fourth-best team in the league in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .329.
In their previous meeting this season, Miami beat Chicago, bringing its SU record to 6-4 over the Bulls in the last 10 games. At 5-5, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia
Notes
Chicago ranks 17th in points per game with 101.6, while Miami ranks second in points allowed with an average of 96.7 given up.
Chicago scores 102.0 points per away game, ranking eighth in the league. Miami allows just 96.8 points per home game (ranked fourth).
Chicago has an exceptional 20-3 record when it allows under 100 points this season. Miami is 15-20 when it puts up under 100.
The Chicago Bulls have a losing 10-25 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Miami Heat are 18-6 when they hit the century mark.
The Bulls have an offensive rating of 101.7 (ranked 26th), while the Heat rank sixth for their defensive rating of 100.8.
The Miami Heat have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with a FG% of 46.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Chicago Bulls have an underachieving 2-12 record.
On average, Miami attempts 18.0 three pointers and Chicago attempts 20.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, both have losing records. The Heat are 1-3 while the Bulls sit at 3-7.
The Miami Heat rank 19th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.51. The Chicago Bulls have a higher A/TO (1.65), ranking 13th.
The Chicago Bulls are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Miami Heat rank 23rd in offensive rebounding.
The Heat record .0 steals per game on average (ranked first). The Bulls are 30-28 when allowing at least steals.
