The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls meet in Wednesday’s Eastern Conference play-in game.
The pregame narrative: The winner of this matchup goes on to play the Atlanta Hawks with a chance at the playoffs. The loser goes home. Chicago has been the better team lately, and I expect it to advance on home court. Prop bets on Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo round out this +375 wager.
Check out my Heat vs. Bulls play-in SGP predictions for April 16.
Heat vs. Bulls predictions
Parlay: Bulls ML | Herro over 23.5 points | Adebayo 4+ assists (+375)
Bulls moneyline (-117): It seemed like Chicago was tanking its season when it traded away then-leading scorer Zach LaVine on Feb. 3. The team’s play reflected that, as the Bulls dropped seven of their next nine.
But since that skid, Chicago has been one of the league’s best teams:
- 16-7 record
- +4.6 net rating (8th)
- 111.5 defensive rating (10th)
The Bulls won 10 of 13 games to close the season and secure a play-in spot. That includes wins over the Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Heat.
Miami, meanwhile, limped into the play-in with losses in four of its final six.
Chicago is 8-2 in its last 10 games against Miami (3-0 this season).
NBA SGP legs
Herro over 23.5 points (-155): I like Herro to clear this leg for a few reasons.
The Bulls play at the second-fastest pace in the NBA and should dictate the tempo on their home court.
That’s good news for us, considering they also allow the second-most points per game to opposing point guards, according to Fantasy Pros.
Herro scored 30 points in his last outing against Chicago and is averaging 24.0 PPG since the all-star break.
With Miami’s season on the line, I expect Herro to over-index in a plus matchup.
Adebayo 4+ assists (-275): Adebayo is sneakily one of the league’s best passing big men.
He’s averaging 4.3 assists per game this season, fourth among centres behind Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis and Alperen Sengun.
Adebayo has been reliable against this line, clearing it in 49 of 78 games (62.9%). That includes seven of his last eight heading into the playoffs.
Ideally, I’ll be double-dipping on some assists from Adebayo to Herro.
Heat vs. Bulls predictions made at 12:00 p.m. ET 04/16/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.