The final Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament game is set, as the Miami Heat will host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The winner will claim the No. 8 seed and advance to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, while the loser will head to the lottery.
Miami is here after blowing a 14-point lead to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday, and will be without star forward Jimmy Butler (knee) and key guard Terry Rozier (neck). Chicago is coming off a convincing win over the Atlanta Hawks in their first Play-In Game, and will be shorthanded as well. Defensive specialist Alex Caruso sprained his ankle against the Hawks and may join Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams among those unavailable for the Bulls.
Ahead of Friday’s showdown, here’s everything you need to know:
Heat vs. Bulls Date: Friday, April 19 | Time: 7 p.m. ET Location: Kaseya Center — Miami, Florida TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (try for free) Odds: Heat -1.5; O/U 205.5 Storylines Heat: The Heat were a few wins away from avoiding the Play-In Tournament all together. Now, they’re a few losses away from their first trip to the lottery since 2019. As if blowing a double-digit lead to the Sixers in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game wasn’t bad enough, the Heat learned they’ll be without Jimmy Butler, who suffered a knee injury in Philadelphia, and Terry Rozier for Friday’s matchup with the Bulls. The Heat were a bottom-third offensive team this season, and now, will be without two of their primary scorers and creators. For the season, they had a plus-5.5 net rating with Butler on the court and a minus-2.0 net rating without him.
Bulls: All season, there were calls for the Bulls to blow things up and tank for a high draft pick. Suddenly, they’re one win away from an improbable trip to the playoffs. They went 36-46 this season, and with the obvious caveat that the Play-In Tournament didn’t exist until 2020, that would be the fewest wins for an Eastern Conference playoff team in an 82-game season since the Celtics earned the No. 8 seed in 2004 with the same number of victories.
Prediction Picking against the Heat at home in a one-game situation is risky, but losing Butler and Rozier feels like too much to overcome. I’ll ride with the hot hand of Coby White. Pick: Bulls +1.5
The Miami Heat will look to take a similar path to the 2024 NBA playoffs as they did last year as they try to earn the East’s eighth seed when they battle the Chicago Bulls in a 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament matchup on Friday. The Bulls (39-43), who advanced with a 131-116 win over Atlanta on Wednesday, are 19-22 on the road, including 1-1 at Miami. The Heat (46-36), who were also an eighth seed last season but reached the NBA Finals, dropped a 105-104 decision to the 76ers on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck) are out for Miami, while Ayo Dosunmu (quad), Alex Caruso (ankle) and Andre Drummond (ankle) are questionable for Chicago.
The game from the Kaseya Center in Miami will tip off at 7 p.m. ET. Chicago is averaging 112.3 points per game, 22nd-best in the NBA, while Miami averages 110.1, 26th-best. The Heat are 1.5-point favorites in the latest Bulls vs. Heat odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 206. Before making any Heat vs. Bulls picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 88-58 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,600. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Bulls vs. Heat and just locked in its picks and NBA playoff predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Heat vs. Bulls:
Bulls vs. Heat spread: Miami -1.5 Bulls vs. Heat over/under: 206 points Bulls vs. Heat money line: Chicago +104, Miami -123 CHI: The Bulls had a minus-1.4 point differential during the regular season MIA: The Heat were 32-20 against Eastern Conference foes in 2023-24 Bulls vs. Heat picks: See picks at SportsLine Why the Heat can cover Center Bam Adebayo registered a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia. He has reached double-digit scoring in 18 of his last 19 games, including 12 double-doubles in that span. In 71 games, all starts, he is averaging 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 minutes. He has played well against the Bulls throughout his career. In 18 games against Chicago, he is averaging 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes.
Also giving Miami valuable minutes is guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. In Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, Jaquez came off the bench and played more than 22 minutes, scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. He has reached double-figure scoring in three consecutive games, including a 20-point and nine-assist effort in a 125-103 win over Toronto on April 12. For the season, he has played in 75 games, including 20 starts, and is averaging 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and one steal in 28.2 minutes. See who to back at SportsLine.
Why the Bulls can cover Small forward DeMar DeRozan powers Chicago’s offense. In 79 games, all starts, DeRozan has been dominant, averaging 24 points, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals. In his last four regular-season games, he scored no fewer than 30 points, including a 39-point performance in a 127-105 win at Detroit on April 11. In four games against the Heat this season, he is averaging 22 points, four rebounds, 4.5 assists and one block.
Point guard Coby White has been effective of late, scoring a career-high 42 points in Wednesday’s win over the Hawks. In Sunday’s regular-season finale at New York, he scored 26 points, while dishing out four assists in a 120-119 overtime loss. He had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 129-127 win at Washington on April 12. In 79 games, including 78 starts, he is averaging 19.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 36.5 minutes. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make Heat vs. Bulls picks SportsLine’s model is leaning Over on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 217 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits over 50% of the time. You can only get the model’s picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Bulls vs. Heat, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that’s 88-58 on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
When the dust settled on a wild final day of the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks had dropped to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Indiana Pacers were left clinging on to the last guaranteed spot at No. 6. This is somehow just the third time that the two Central Division foes will meet in the postseason, and the first since 2000.
After all that transpired between the two teams this season, perhaps a playoff matchup was always pre-ordained. Ahead of what should be a fascinating series, regardless of when or if Giannis Antetokounmpo returns from his calf injury, here is a brief history of this season’s best feud.
Nov. 9: Giannis drops 54, Griffin ejected in Pacers’ comeback win Nothing controversial happened in this game, but the dramatic and competitive nature set the tone for what would transpire in the coming months. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 54 points, but former Bucks coach Adrian Griffin was ejected before they blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
Dec. 7: Haliburton steals Lillard’s celebration, Lillard issues a warning, Bucks have locker room spat A month after their first game, an extra meeting was added to the schedule when the two teams squared off in the semifinals of the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. Once again, the Bucks were in front in the fourth quarter, but Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers on a stunning comeback. He sealed the win with a step-back 3-pointer over Brook Lopez, then broke out Damian Lillard’s “Dame Time” celebration.
Lillard largely took the taunt in stride, but did issue the rising star a warning.
“When you are having your moment, it’s important to be careful, to be humble in your moments because you just never know how the tables are going to turn or when they are going to turn,” Lillard remarked. “I learned as a kid, when you dish it out, you’ve got to be willing to take it. For as many times as I’ve done it to people, I can’t be upset when somebody else does it, you know what I mean. I think that’s also a sign of respect and acknowledgment for knowing my history and knowing what I do.”
If that wasn’t enough drama, Bobby Portis reportedly called out Griffin and his teammates in the locker room over their lack of composure and execution down the stretch. Neither Portis nor Griffin would comment on the situation in the coming days.
Dec. 13: Ballgate When the two teams squared off again a week later, the Bucks were ready to send a message and the resulting contest was one of the most absurd in NBA history. There was a flagrant foul, multiple technical fouls, an ejection, career-and-franchise-records for Antetokounmpo, a mystery over the game ball and an alleged assault of the Pacers’ general manager.
Antetokounmpo ran up the score in the closing seconds of the Bucks’ comfortable win to finish with 64 points, and then chased the Pacers down the tunnel at the final buzzer in search of the game ball. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said later that the team’s GM, Chad Buchanan, was elbowed in the ribs by a Bucks player during the hallway scrum, though that was never confirmed. Upon returning to the court, Antetokounmpo then had words for Haliburton, who didn’t seem to understand what was going on.
Later that night, it seemed the issue had been resolved after video showed a Bucks security staffer grabbing the game ball at the final buzzer. The Pacers had a reserve ball that they wanted to give to rookie big man Oscar Tshiebwe in honor of scoring his first official points. Antetokounmpo, however, inflamed matters again by saying while he had a ball, he didn’t think it was the real one.
“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me. It feels like a brand new ball. I can tell, I’ve played 35 minutes today, I know how the game ball felt. The ball that I have, which I’ll take and give to my mom for sure, but I don’t know if it’s actually the game ball.
“I knew they had the game ball. I didn’t think they had the game ball, I knew they had the ball. I don’t know how it works, but I assume I cannot just walk into any arena I play in and just take the ball.”
Jan. 1: Pacers pull off another comeback In the lead-up to the fourth matchup, both teams traded comments in the media. “People didn’t see the way Indiana acted that night,” a Bucks source told ESPN. “You come into our house and take our stuff. Screaming, ‘F-you. F-you.’ Yeah, how’s a guy going to react?”
“It was unnecessary, it was blown out of proportion,” Myles Turner added. “They had the ball the whole time. I think that was obvious. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
“We kind of bullied them that game,” Portis said. “I think they felt that presence. When a team beats you twice, you don’t want to let them beat you three times because now they think they can play with you. We played with a sense of urgency. We were more physical, we were hitting them. I don’t think they liked that.”
While that may have been true, the Pacers were ready this time around. After trailing early, they stormed back in the second half and pulled away down the stretch for their third win of the season over the Bucks.
“This is a game that everybody was prepared for and everybody was ready for,” Haliburton said. “Again, I think their words were ‘We weren’t ready for them physically.’ I think we were ready for them today.”
Jan. 3: Pacers win again behind Haliburton Just two days later, the teams met for a fifth time in Indianapolis. This one was all Pacers, as they cruised to an 18-point win with a dominant second half. Tyrese Haliburton was once again unstoppable, finishing with 31 points and 12 assists. Over the five games versus the Bucks, Haliburton averaged 27 points, 5.8 rebounds and 11 assists on 53.2% shooting from the field. Even more impressive, he had just seven total turnovers in 176 minutes.
Jan. 5: Beasley promises revenge Shortly after the Pacers secured a 4-1 record in the season series, Bucks guard Malik Beasley did an interview with Chris Haynes and was asked about the rivalry between the teams. He predicted a playoff meeting and promised revenge.
“I think it comes down to, for us, how they got our number, there’s certain teams that just [have] your number,” Beasley said. “We’re still trying to figure that out because I know we’re gonna play them in the playoffs and, boy, it’s not gonna be pretty. It’s not gonna be pretty for them.
“This reminds me of Memphis-Minnesota, Lakers-Memphis, we played them four, five times a year, and then we played them in the playoffs. The way the league’s shaping up right now, I think we’re gonna play them in the playoffs at 2-7 or 1-8. So we’ll see.”
