Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat Predictions, Player Props & Injury Reports (April 19)

• The Chicago Bulls visit the Miami Heat for the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference
• Miami lost Jimmy Butler to a knee injury in Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers
• See the Bulls vs Heat odds, predictions, and player props for April 19 in Miami

The last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference will be determined on Friday night when the Chicago Bulls (40-43, 19-22 away, 42-40-1 ATS) visit the Miami Heat (46-37, 22-10 home, 42-39-2 ATS) at the Kaseya Center at 7:10 pm ET.

Miami received devastating injury news after its heartbreaking 105-104 setback in Philadelphia on Wednesday night: six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler will miss “several weeks” with an MCL injury.

With Butler out and the Bulls playing some of their best basketball of the season lately, the Bulls vs Heat spread favors Miami by just 1.5 points.

Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat Odds

The Heat are -125 on the moneyline with the Bulls coming back at +105 to win. The game total is just 205.5; Chicago and Miami ranked 28th and 29th, respectively, in pace during the regular season. Only the New York Knicks played at a slower tempo.

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Odds as of April 19. Bet on Bulls vs Heat at any of the top sports betting apps. 

The winner of Bulls vs Heat will face the #1 Boston Celtics in the NBA playoff bracket, with Game 1 taking place on Sunday, April 21. Miami defeated Boston in the Eastern Conference finals just last season after advancing out of the 2023 Play-In Tournament as the #8 seed.

Bulls Throttle Hawks in 9-vs-10 Game

Chicago played one of its best games of the season on Wednesday while defeating Atlanta 131-116 at home. The Bulls took an 18-point lead after the first quarter and, after ATL mounted a brief comeback attempt in the second, Chicago stretched the lead back to 18 after the third quarter.

Coby White had a career-high 42 points in the win along with nine rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Bulls shot 56.8% from the field and 42.3% from three while committing just seven turnovers. On defense, Chicago limited the Hawks to just 45.1% from the field and smashed Atlanta on the boards (47 to 34).

Leading scorer DeMar DeRozan (24.0 PPG, 5.3 APG) had 22 points and nine assists, and was a team-best +27 while on the floor. The bulk of Atlanta’s second-quarter comeback came with DeRozan resting on the bench.

Chicago finished the regular season 20th in Net Rating (-1.7), 19th on offense (114.0) and 22nd on defense (115.7).

The Bulls injury report shows three key contributors listed as questionable: Alex Caruso (10.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG), Andre Drummond (8.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG), and Ayo Dosunmu (12.2 PPG, 3.2 APG).

Heat Missing More Than Just Butler

Miami led almost the entire way in Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to the 76ers, including holding a 12-point lead at halftime and a 94-93 edge with just 2:15 remaining. But turnovers and uncharacteristic defensive lapses in the final minutes sank their upset bid and the news got considerably worse after the game.

Jimmy Butler (20.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.0 APG) is out with a sprained MCL, while Terry Rozier (16.4 PPG, 4.6 APG), who’s suffering from a neck injury, will miss his sixth-straight game. Duncan Robinson (12.9 PPG, 2.8 APG) is listed as probable with a back injury that’s held him out since April 7.

On Wednesday, Tyler Herro finished with a game-high 25 points but was just 9-of-27 from the field and 4-of-14 from three.

Miami ended the regular season rated slightly higher than the Bulls in Net Rating (+1.8, 17th) thanks to a top-five defense.

Chicago and Miami split their four regular-season games, each going 1-1 at home.

CHI vs MIA Player Props

Player props from the DraftKings Sportsbook app.  

The Bulls vs Heat NBA player props list DeRozan with a game-high point total of 26.5, one higher than Herro at 25.5, who is expected to shoulder more of the offensive burden with Butler out and Rozier still sidelined.

Bulls vs Heat Prediction

The Heat have a lot more experience winning in the postseason, and have been dealing with injuries all season long, but this is going to be a tough climb without Butler and Rozier, and potentially Robinson. The head-to-head matchups showed that there was little separating the teams, and the Bulls certainly carry more momentum into Friday.

This is a toss-up game and I will take the value on Chicago at +105.

CHI vs MIA pick: Bulls moneyline (+105)

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:

• 20-26 moneyline (+3.26 units)
• 25-20-2 ATS (+4.61 units)
• 1-1 over/under (-0.09 units)
• 10-16 player props (-7.32 units)
• 0-3 same-game parlay (-3.00 units)