How To Watch Bulls at Heat Play-In Game On Friday
The 2022-23 NBA regular season has come to an end, which means it is time for the Play-In Tournament and playoffs to begin!
On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat will battle it out in Miami for the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference and final spot in the playoffs. The winner will advance to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first-round of the postseason, while the other team will pack their bags and throw in the towel for the season!
Although they were the favorites in their last game, the Heat looked flat against the Atlanta Hawks, putting them in a situation they did not want to be in for the 8-seed. Chicago can get going offensively at any time in a game, which is why the Heat cannot afford another slow start like they had against Atlanta.
On the other side of things, Zach LaVine was spectacular in the 9-seed vs. 10-seed play-in game against the Toronto Raptors. The Chicago Bulls All-Star scored a game-high 39 points and willed the Bulls to a victory in the second-half.
Will the Heat be able to defend their home court or will the Bulls shock the world again and advance to the playoffs?
Here's how to watch Friday night’s game, with game time and TV, lineups, bios and other must-know details.
How to watch Bulls vs. Heat
WHO: Chicago Bulls (40-42) vs. Miami Heat (44-38)
WHAT: 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament: 8-seed game
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET, Friday, April 14
WHERE: Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: TNT
Key Stats & Facts For Bulls vs. Heat
- The Bulls and Heat faced off three times during the regular season with the Bulls winning all three games by an average of 10.7 points.
- The Heat finished the regular season ranking 25th in offensive rating and 9th in defensive rating, while the Bulls finished the regular season ranking 24th in offensive rating and 5th in defensive rating.
- Miami is 27-15 at home this season and Chicago is 19-23 on the road, including postseason games.
Last Matchup:
March 18, 2022 - Bulls 113, Heat 99
DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and NIkola Vucevic combined to score 55 points for the Bulls, as Coby White (18 points) and Patrick Beverley (17 points) also stepped up for Chicago in this victory over Miami. As a team, the Bulls shot 45-80 (56.3 percent) from the floor and 17-34 (50.0 percent) from three-point range. Miami turned the ball over 13 times in this game and got virtually no production outside of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Max Strus off-the-bench, who combined to score 67 points. The rest of the team shot just 11-36 (30.6 percent) from the floor and scored a combined 32 points.
Latest Injury News:
Bulls Injuries: Lonzo Ball (knee) - Out
Heat Injuries: Nikola Jovic (back) - Out, Gabe Vincent (hip) - Questionable, Kyle Lowry (hip) - Questionable
Projected Starters:
PROJECTED BULLS STARTERS:
- G Patrick Beverley, 6-1 guard: 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists (2022-23 season stats)
- G Zach LaVine, 6-5 guard: 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists
- F DeMar DeRozan, 6-6 forward: 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists
- F Patrick Williams, 6-7 forward: 10.2 points, 4.0 rebounds
- C Nikola Vucevic, 6-10 center: 17.6 points, 11.0 rebounds
PROJECTED HEAT STARTERS:
- G Gabe Vincent (Q), 6-3 guard: 9.4 points, 2.5 assists
- G Tyler Herro, 6-5 guard: 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists
- G/F Max Strus, 6-5 guard/forward, 6-7 forward: 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds
- F Jimmy Butler, 6-7 forward: 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists
- C Bam Adebayo, 6-9 center: 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds
Betting Odds:
- The Heat are currently 5.5-point favorites over the Bulls as of Friday morning, according to SI Sportsbook.
- The over/under for this matchup is currently set at 209.5 total points.
What to watch for:
- The Miami Heat have made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, most recently losing in the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago.
- The Chicago Bulls are looking to make it back to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first-time since 2015.
- Miami is 34-10 this season when they score at least 110 points. Chicago is 35-19 this season when they score at least 110 points.
- The Bulls and Heat have played a total of 31 playoff games and seven playoff series all-time. Chicago is 18-13 against Miami in the postseason and they are 4-3 against the Heat in playoff series. The Heat have won the last two series.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
