Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat - GAME DAY PREVIEW

The Chicago Bulls will look to make it two wins in a row when they battle the Miami Heat for the second time this week. Fresh off a 124-116 win over the Heat on Thursday night, Chicago will look to ride the momentum of that morale-boosting win to nab another victory over one of the East’s best.

Next man up

The Bulls have been beset by injuries this season. With Lonzo Ball already set to miss the rest of the season and Zach LaVine also out for an extended period due to a foot injury, defensive stud Alex Caruso re-injured his left ankle early in the game and did not return. This opened up an opportunity for young guard Ayo Dosunmu, who responded with one of the best games of his career, racking up 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan showered the third-year guard with praise for his superb showing against Miami.

“I thought he was good defensively and made really good decisions when he got in the paint, kicking it out. We had talked about shootaround that against them, you really have to put pressure on the paint. I thought he did a really good job with constant pressure. And that opened up things for him, and then he was able to open things up and make plays,” Donovan said.

Coby giving Ayo his flowers 💐 @PaycorInc | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/hVkhmbsl1i
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 15, 2023

Getting better

The season just keeps on getting better for Coby White. Not only is he taking advantage of the opportunities placed before him, especially with LaVine out, but he’s also making sure he improves on the things he can get better at—case in point: manipulating the opposing defense.

With White having made at least three three-pointers in each of the last 13 games, opposing teams are now trying to run him off the three-point line. White is recognizing this and intends to make the defense pay for such a tactic.

“I just try to read what’s in front of me,” said White, who had 26 points and 11 assists against Miami.

“In the second half, they were running a lot harder at me than they were in the first half. I got a lot of open ones in the first half. In the second half, they ran a lot harder at me, and I just wanted to get downhill and look for kickouts, look for my teammates. I always say I feel I have a long way to go in manipulating a defense, but I am getting better, and that’s all you can ask for, getting better.”

Coby White is putting the league on notice.

26 pts | 9-20 FG | 7 reb | 11 ast pic.twitter.com/BxUAxksCxK
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 15, 2023