The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat will be hoping to keep their NBA Playoff hopes alive when they face off in the play-in tournament at the United Center on Thursday.
The Bulls ended the regular season with a record of 39-43 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, while the Heat finished in 10th, two games behind them on 34-45.
Match preview
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A spot in the play-in tournament final round against either the Atlanta Hawks or Orlando Magic awaits the winner of this match, while the loser will be eliminated from the postseason.
The Chicago Bulls will be hoping that it is third time lucky, as this marks the third season in which they will face this opponent in the play-in round, with both previous encounters ending in defeat.
However, Chicago have genuine reasons for optimism this time around, as they now have the home court advantage and were also the more successful team in this contest this year, sweeping the regular-season series 3-0.
While Billy Donovan's side only managed a home record of 18-23 at the United Center, they did beat the Heat 119-111 at this venue less than a week ago, with Josh Giddey putting up an exceptional 28 points, along with 16 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Bulls' greatest strength this season has been their attack, with the team holding the sixth-highest points scored per game average in the NBA (117.8), though they have struggled on the defensive end, conceding the third-most points against (119.4).
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Meanwhile, the Miami Heat are certainly no strangers to the NBA play-in tournament, with their most recent appearance coming in 2023 when they beat the Bulls and went on to reach the finals against the Denver Nuggets.
However, the 2024-25 season has been a tough one for Erik Spoelstra and co, as they had to make a massive call to trade Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, and have arguably not looked the same since his departure.
Since the All-Star Break, Miami have posted a record of 12-17, and that drops to 9-15 since March 1, significantly lower than the 17-10 and 15-7 records the Bulls have notched up, respectively, over the same period.
Still, despite their struggles, the Heat are an elite-level defence that allows just 110.0 points per game (seventh best in the NBA), while putting up 110.6 points per outing, which ranks 24th in the league overall.
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Team News
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Reports over the last 24 hours suggest that the Bulls could be without Lonzo Ball for this matchup. The 27-year-old guard has only featured in 35 games this season due to injury, and while he is not ruled out at the time of writing, his participation is a serious doubt.
Ayo Dosunmu is ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury, while Tre Jones and Giddey are listed as day-to-day, though both players are expected to be available for the trip in Chicago.
The Heat, on the other hand, opted to rest Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in their season finale against the Wizards over the weekend, and both players will be good to go come Thursday.
However, Miami are keeping eyes on several players, including Pelle Larsson (ankle), Isaiah Stevens (foot), Alec Burks (back), Nikola Jovic (hand) and Kevin Love (personal), all of whom are listed as day-to-day.
Chicago Bulls possible starting five:
Huerter, Buzelis, Vucevic, Giddey, White
Miami Heat possible starting five:
Adebayo, Wiggins, Ware, Herro, Burks
We say: Chicago Bulls to win by 3+ points
The Chicago Bulls ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, racking up 10 wins in their last 13 games, including a 119-111 victory over the Heat less than a week ago at this venue.
Miami lost the series 3-0 this season, and given their lack of depth, we feel they will struggle to keep up with the high-scoring Bulls in this one.
Devesh Jaganath
