The Miami Heat are one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals tonight when they face the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat took a 3-1 series lead on Tuesday night with a 101-93 win in overtime as 5-point favorites. LeBron James led the Heat with 35 points and Derrick Rose had 23 points for Chicago.
View Miami vs Chicago Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had the Bulls installed as 2-point favorites in this particular matchup. The over-under number was listed by most sportsbooks at 180.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Bulls at No. 1 and the Heat at No. 3 heading into this contest. Handicapping models run by the computers at Odds Shark project a 106-104 result in favor of the Bulls.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Chicago's No. 20-ranked offense (98.6 PPG) against a Heat defense that ranks No. 6 at 94.6 PPG. The Bulls have averaged 46.2% from the field per game, less than the Heat have managed so far this season (48.1% on average).
Defensively, the Heat feature the league's No. 3-rated defense on the road, allowing 95.2 points per game. Chicago, meanwhile, comes in at No. 19 in the league in scoring at home.
In their last action, Chicago was a 101-93 loser on the road against the Heat. They failed to cover the 5–point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (194) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Chicago got 23 points from Derrick Rose but lost anyway 101-93 against the Heat on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Miami Heat Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Chicago are 6-4
After playing Chicago are 7-3
After a win are 7-3
Chicago Bulls Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 8-2
Before playing Miami are 5-5
After playing Miami are 6-4
After a loss are 8-2
A few Heat at Bulls trends to consider:
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami's last 9 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Miami is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Chicago is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Chicago's last 9 games when playing at home against Miami
Chicago is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Miami
Chicago is 18-6 SU in its last 24 games
Next up:
Miami home to Chicago, Saturday, May 28
Chicago at Miami, Saturday, May 28
