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The Bulls-Heat spread was coming in at Miami -6 for the April 19 NBA game. You can find all the latest betting odds for the NBA here at Sportsbook.com and receive up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Miami -6, Total: 183.5
Opening Line & Total: Heat -5 & 183
The Bulls have a chance to all but officially lock up the top seed in the East for a second straight year, but they might have to do it without their two best players when they host Miami on Thursday night.
Both PG Derrick Rose is doubtful (ankle) and SF Luol Deng (ribs) probable after sitting out Wednesday’s win over the Bobcats. The Heat, on the other hand, will be well-rested even after playing (and soundly beating) the Raptors on Wednesday. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh both sat that game out to get some extra rest, but neither is injured and they’re both expected to suit up on Thursday. The Bulls have beaten the Heat twice in the past five weeks, both times in Chicago and once without Rose. But Miami has beaten the Bulls three in a row and eight of nine SU (6-3 ATS) at home, and this is more of a statement game for Miami than it is for the Bulls, who still have wiggle room to clinch the 1-seed even without this game.
Miami may have been without Wade (22.6 PPG on 49.8% FG) and Bosh (18.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG) on Wednesday, but SF LeBron James (27.1 PPG on 53.3% FG, 8.0 RPG, 6.4 APG) came to play. James scored 28 points on 12-for-15 FG, and the Heat shot 53% from the field as a team in a 96-72 rout of the Raptors at home. In wins over Toronto (on Wednesday) and at New Jersey (on Monday), James shot a combined 23-for-34 (68%) from the field and 17-for-19 (90%) from the line. He’s averaged 33.3 PPG on 51.4% FG in three meetings with the Bulls this season.
After a shaky performance at home against the Bulls in January (15 points on 4-for-16 FG), Wade averaged 28.5 PPG on 55.3% FG in their two games in Chicago. And after a disastrous 3-for-15 shooting night in Chicago in March, Bosh bounced back to score 20 on 8-for-16 FG in their meeting last week.
On Wednesday, the Bulls had little trouble with a Charlotte team that looks more like a D-League squad at this point. Aside from sitting Rose and Deng, none of Chicago’s starters played more than 24 minutes in that game. SG Richard Hamilton (12.0 PPG) led the way with 22 points on 9-for-13 FG and 4-for-5 from three. It was Hamilton’s second straight 22-point effort. Defensively, they held the Bobcats to 68 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and 29.8% FG on the night.
When these teams met in Chicago on March 14, the Bulls were without Rose, but pulled off a 106-102 win behind 24 points from John Lucas (7.0 PPG), who led six players in double figures.
The Heat have effectively bottled up Rose (22.5 PPG, 7.9 APG) beginning with last year’s postseason, holding him to 21.9 PPG on just 33.5% FG over the past seven times Rose has been in the lineup against them. In their last meeting, last Thursday at Chicago, Rose was a complete disaster. Still hampered by an ankle injury, he scored a career-low two points on 1-for-13 shooting over 25 minutes and was benched in favor of C.J. Watson down the stretch.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
