Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 16/12/2023, 05:13  by Kennedy Kechula in NBA Predictions

The Miami Heat will again host the Chicago Bulls for the second match of their back-to-back in the NBA on Sunday. Miami are seventh in the East while the Bulls are 12th. The Heat fell 124-116 to Chicago on Friday and will be eager to not suffer the same fate again. Eric Spoelstra’s men are struggling to dominate teams at home and have lost four of the last six as hosts. Their latest defeat left them three games above .500. Miami, who are averaging 112.8 points a game, have been hit by a series of injuries that have hampered their momentum. They will have no less than five players out for this game with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero the major absentees. Rookie Jaime Jaquez has been a leading light for the team and scored a team-high 22 points in the loss to the Bulls. Jimmy Butler bagged 20 points with four other players scoring in double digits.

The Chicago Bulls have seen their fortunes change in December and half of their 10 victories have come in the month. They however remain with a woeful away record. Billy Donovan’s men have lost nine of 12 away fixtures and this return has precipitated their early struggles. The Bulls are six games below .500 and possess the eighth-worst record in the league. They are scoring 109.7 points a game and are giving up 113.5 to their opponents. Four players scored at least 20 points in Friday’s win in Miami with Coby White leading the way again with 26. Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic both had 24 while leading scorer DeMar DeRozan notched 23. The Bulls don’t have a long injury list. Long-term absentees Lonzo Ball and Zach Lavine remain out while Alex Caruso is listed as ‘Questionable’.