An incredibly interesting game lies on tap for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls in the back end of back-to-back games at home at the United Center on the night of Nov. 27. Donovan and the Bulls are set to take on former Chicago star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat at home at the United Center on Nov. 27.
The Bulls are coming off a much-needed bounce-back win to snap a two-game losing skid, which came over the Orlando Magic on the road at the Amway Center on Black Friday (Nov. 26). This was one of the most dominant margins of victory for the Bulls in recent years, getting the win over the Magic by the final score of 123-88.
The 35-point win served as a marker for the Bulls that this team isn’t going away, despite the two-game losing skid heading into that game.
Following the dominant win over the Magic on Black Friday, the Bulls come into this key meeting with the Heat with a record of 13-7. Meanwhile, the Heat come into this game sporting a record of 12-7 following a bad 113-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 24.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as the Bulls take on the Heat at the United Center on Nov. 27, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Heat come into this game as a 1.5-point favorite around five hours ahead of tip-off at the United Center against the Bulls. And the over/under is set around 211 points for this Bulls-Heat game.
So far this season, the Bulls are 12-7-0 against the spread, matching the number for the Heat. And the Heat currently sit on a record of 6-6 on the road. Meanwhile, the Bulls boast a record of 6-3 at home this season.
The ESPN matchup predictor (based on the Basketball Power Index) gives the Heat a 60 percent chance to beat the Bulls.
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat prediction
Butler and the Heat should have a leg-up here in the sense that they haven’t played a single game in three days. You also figure that it won’t be easy to face a Heat team under head coach Erik Spoelstra that will have a big chip on their shoulder coming off a bad dozen-point loss to the Timberwolves.
The Heat are going to be hungry to prove that they are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and they should come out with a lot of energy right from tip-off.
There were some truly great matchups in year’s past between the likes of “Jimmy G. Buckets” and the Bulls’ star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. When he was a member of the Toronto Raptors, there was a multitude of high-octane matchups between DeRozan and Butler.
DeRozan has found offensive success against Butler in the past, but this won’t be an easy matchup for him and fellow Bulls’ star shooting guard Zach LaVine. This Heat team is talented and deep on both ends of the floor.
So much of the onus in this game for the Bulls will fall on the scoring production of DeRozan and LaVine. The Bulls got a massive outing from third-year point guard Coby White, who came up with a season-high 20 points off the bench in an efficient shooting performance where he went 9-of-11 from the field.
This is going to be one of the more difficult home matchups of the entire season for the Bulls. They face another Florida team, just at home this time. Butler and the Heat and going to be out to prove a point in this game, and it will be up to DeRozan and LaVine to hold them at bay.