The Miami Heat Could End Another Chicago Bulls Season

If you can't take the Heat, get out of the Play-In Tournament.

Dating back to Derrick Rose's superstar era, the Miami Heat have served as the Chicago Bulls' Achilles heel. While the Bulls may find a way to steal a few regular-season wins, the Miami Heat have consistently found a way to walk away victorious when it matters most. And we need to look no further than the last three Play-In Tournaments to see precisely that.

The Bulls first met the Heat in 2023 after beating the Toronto Raptors in the opening round (etched in history as the Diar "Blood Curling Scream" DeRozan game). Miami beat them 102-91 behind 62 combined points from Jimmy Butler and Max Strus.

Fast forward a year, and the Bulls took another trip to South Beach in mid-April after taking care of the Atlanta Hawks. All they could muster was a nearly identical effort, losing 112-91. The win came despite Jimmy Butler being on the sideline.

The 2025 Play-In loss was as bad as they come. Meeting for the third straight year, the Bulls and Heat were battling in Round 1 of the Tournament for the first time. The game was also held at the United Center for the first time. Instead of using that higher seed to their advantage, the Bulls quickly faced a 25-point deficit and crumbled under the pressure. They lost 109-90.

Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls — Nov 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) defends against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

For those keeping track at home, this means the Bulls have failed to score more than 91 points in each of their three Play-In Tournament meetings against the Heat. Their best shooting effort was also 43.9 percent from the field, which came in their first-ever meeting. A sobering fact when we consider that the offensive side of the ball has been their "bread-and-butter" for years.

But, wait, it somehow gets more troubling for the Bulls. The Play-In struggles have possibly made their way to the regular season. Chicago faced Miami for the first time in November; It was no contest. The Heat won a staggering 143-107 at the United Center. The Bulls shot 41.1 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from long range. Meanwhile, the Heat finished with eight players in double figures and shot 44 free throws.

There is no other way to put it – the Miami Heat have been the Bulls' kryptonite. And that's telling when we consider they have swam in similar middling waters over the last handful of years. One might call it just as telling as the 12-win Indiana Pacers picking up their third victory of the year over Chicago on Wednesday night. The Bulls' annual lack of change continues to insist that they believe they are built to beat these kinds of teams. We're still waiting for the proof of concept.

With that said, these next three games could go a long way toward showing whether or not the Bulls are actually on a better track. They will now play an unprecedented three straight games against the Heat. These will also make up three of their final four games before the NBA trade deadline, and rumors are swirling that the Bulls' ultimate plan could be dictated by upcoming performance. If that truly is the case, the Heat could be well on their way toward ending another Bulls season.

Indeed, this might as well be the ultimate (saddest?) three-game Play-In series, especially with Miami (7th) sitting a mere 2.5 games ahead of Chicago in the East standings. If the Bulls want any chance at justifying a limited or additive trade deadline, they have to walk away from this three-game set on top. Fail to do that, and the Bulls might be better closing the door on this early.