Game preview and injury report: Chicago Bulls win or go home game vs. Miami Heat

The Chicago Bulls visit the Miami Heat in a do-or-die Play-in tournament game tonight. The winner of this game moves on to face the Bucks.

The Bulls erased a 19-point deficit to beat the Raptors 109-105 in Toronto on Wednesday. Zach LaVine led the way with 39 points and six rebounds, DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and seven rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic added 14 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists in the victory.

No. 10 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 7 Miami Heat

Friday, April 14 – 7:00 PM ET at Kaseya Center

Regular Season Stats

Chicago Bulls

Points Per Game: 113.1 (22nd of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 111.8 (7th of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 31.3 (24th of 30)
Pace: 98.5 (19th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 113.5 (24th of 30)
Defensive Rating: 112.2 (5th of 30)
Net Rating: +1.3 (13th of 30)

Miami Heat

Points Per Game: 109.5 (30th of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 109.8 (2nd of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 29.8 (25th of 30)
Pace: 96.3 (29th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 113 (25th of 30)
Defensive Rating: 113.3 (9th of 30)
Net Rating: -0.3 (21st of 30)

Tyler Herro showed up for the Heat

Tyler Herro went off in Tuesday’s 116-105 home loss against the Hawks with 26 points, six rebounds, and two steals on 12-of-23 shooting, though he was just 2-of-9 from three-point range.

The Heat had a hard time scoring in this game, but Herro shot well enough to help them hang around. Kyle Lowry (11-for-16) was the only other Heat player to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Miami needs Herro to keep up this production against Chicago, and he will probably continue to be one of the focal points of the Heat’s offense, meaning the Bulls must contain him to win this game.

Nikola Vucevic has to step up again

Vucevic didn’t score as much as LaVine (39 points) or DeRozan (23 points), but he had a solid game with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal on 6-of-14 shooting while outplaying Jakob Poeltl.

The Bulls need a similar effort from Vucevic against the Heat due to Bam Adebayo’s presence. Vucevic averaged 19 points, 13 rebounds, shooting 63.2 percent from the field in 36.7 minutes over three games against the Heat this season. Chicago might not advance to the Playoffs unless Vooch has a big night in Miami.

Noteworthy

The Bulls won the last meeting, 113-99 on March 18. DeRozan led the Bulls with 24 points.

The Bulls swept the season series 3-0.

Chicago beat Miami three of the last five times.

The Bulls are 4-6 in the last 10 games against the Heat.

Projected lineup

Bulls: Vucevic, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan, Beverley

Heat: Adebayo, Butler, Herro, Vincent, Strus

Injury report

Bulls: Lonzo Ball is out with a left knee injury.

Heat: Nikola Jovic (back spasms) is out.