There’s no way around it, it’s been an absolutely dismal season for the Miami Heat, but they’re heading into the United Center at the right time, having won four straight games including an upset victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. The Chicago Bulls, on the other hand, will play host to the Heat as they continue to flounder around .500.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, January 27, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at the United Center. The game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet – Chicago and FoxSports Sun.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Miami’s four game winning streak is their longest of the season. In fact, it’s the first time the Heat have won even three straight and the first time they’ve won back-to-back games since the middle of December.
For a team that’s seen star after star leave—or get injured—over the last few seasons, it’s no wonder this team has fallen off the proverbial cliff. It was pretty easy to see coming so expectations were very low for this team. While they’re 15-games under-.500, they at least have lived up to those low expectations as evidence by their 23-22 ATS record.
The Heat are 4-0 ATS in their last four games, but are 2-4 ATS in their last six road games.
As for the Bulls, three straight losses ATS has dropped their ATS mark to 21-24.
The overall feeling around Chicago is still one of disappointment for this team, but there are some signs of hope. They did beat Sacramento at home in a nail bitter with Dwyane Wade coming up big with a few significant late game steals. Before that, they lost in commanding fashion to the Hawks, but showed heart—and life—in the fourth quarter, outscoring Atlanta 36-15 in that frame to save face.
Letdown Spot
The Heat play Brooklyn on Wednesday and that’s more of the letdown, but Miami is undoubtedly playing over its head right now and something has got to give.
The team just beat Golden State, 105-102, holding the NBA’s top offense relatively in check while outscoring their average by more than six points.
In the win against the Warriors, Dion Waiters stole the show with 22-points while shooting 13-for-20 from the floor and a staggering 6-for-8 from the three-point range. Offensively, he was the big storyline, but Hassan Whiteside had the biggest positive differential while on the court. He only shot 4-for-13, but he nabbed a couple steals, a key block and recorded a double-double with 15 rebounds and 10 points.
Adding to the whole equation, Goran Dragic has played exceptional solid basketball during the Heat’s winning streak. He scored 19 against Golden State, but that’s his lowest total in the past four games.
Of course, another factor that could lead to Miami crashing down to earth is the trade deadline inching closer. Dragic’s name has been swirling around in the winds along with a few others.
Key Stat
Don’t look for a high powered, offensively-minded game on Friday night. Neither of these teams have been powerhouses in terms of scoring. In two games head-to-head, they’ve combined to score 398 total points.
From a betting perspective, your best option may be the under on the total. The under is 5-2 in the Heat’s last seven games and 7-1 in the Bulls’ last eight. Overall, the under is 14-9 when Chicago is at home and 14-9 when Miami is not.
Another reason to back the under on Saturday is the pace of play stats for both of these teams. Both teams are in the bottom third in the NBA in pace of play with Miami just a hair above Chicago in Pace Factor. That makes plenty of sense as Chicago and Miami rank No. 23 and No. 29 in PPG.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Bulls won their first two meetings with the Heat this season and are the better overall team by most measures.
In addition, Chicago will be at home with something to play for as they sit on the bubble in the Eastern Conference standings while the Heat are clearly sellers as the trade deadline approaches.
That all said, there’s one team that’s been playing their best basketball right now and it’s not the team from Chicago.
Nevertheless, take Chicago to win at home, but watch the spread as the Heat are playing well right now and should keep the game close.
NBA Odds: Bulls 99, Heat 96
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