What is sure to be a crazy game with a ton of absences is set to take place between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat on the night of Dec. 11. Second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls are now down a whopping seven players due to the league’s health and safety protocol. More than half of the Bulls’ regular rotation is now part of the league’s health and safety protocol, presumably mostly due to COVID-19 cases.
According to a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on Twitter on the afternoon of Dec. 11, the Bulls are now also down the likes of rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu and newly signed small forward Stanley Johnson due to the league’s health and safety protocol. The Bulls just signed Johnson with a hardship exemption earlier in the week due to all of the other absences for this same reason.
Now, the Bulls are down a player that also became a critical piece in the rotation during the absences of point guard Coby White, shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, point guard Alex Caruso, and star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. Missing Dosunmu will definitely hurt for Donovan and the Bulls in the next couple of weeks (depending on how long he’s in quarantine).
The Bulls have 7 players in health and safety protocols. https://t.co/oD26lz5qSI
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 11, 2021
The Bulls aren’t the only team, though, suffering from a multitude of impactful absences in this game. According to the latest injury report from the NBA on Dec. 11, the Heat are down star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler, center Bam Adebayo, guard Victor Oladipo, and forward Markieff Morris.
All told, there are more than a dozen players to note that are likely to be out for the Bulls and Heat in this game in south Florida on the night of Dec. 11.
Moreover, the Bulls are coming into this meeting with the Heat sporting a record of 17-9 following their convincing double-digit loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, the Heat come into this game with a record of 15-11 following a big win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Here’s a look into the pregame betting odds and score prediction as the Bulls take on the Heat, amid a multitude of absences, at FTX Arena in Miami on Dec. 11 with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a slight one-point favorite a few hours ahead of tip-off against the Heat on Dec. 11. And the over/under is set at 209 points in this game.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 38.3 percent chance to beat the Heat.
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat prediction
It’s hard to tell which way this game will go thanks to the plethora of injuries/absences announced just within the last 24 hours or so for both teams. The Heat missing the duo of Butler and Adebayo is obviously impactful as they look to climb back up the Eastern Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are going to be even more short-handed, despite getting the defensive standout guard Caruso back against the Heat.
This will be a lot of pressure on Bulls players like star shooting guard Zach LaVine, center Nikola Vucevic, point guard Lonzo Ball, and Caruso to shoulder the load in this game. Adding the likes of Dosunmu and Johnson to the injury report on this day won’t help their cause, though.
If the Bulls can get cooking offensively, though, between the likes of LaVine and Vucevic, this team should actually be in a good position to somehow win this game. The Heat missing Butler and Adebayo will allow the Bulls the opportunity to still have a very realistic shot at winning this game.
LaVine heating up in this game is something that can get the Bulls a win to stave off a truly negative impact from all of these absences that came about of late. This might be the most important game in terms of how critical his individual performance is for the Bulls’ success so far this season.