Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat Prediction, 12/16/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023

Location: Kaseya Center in Miami, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (+5)

Kaseya Center is where the Miami Heat (14-11) will take on the Chicago Bulls (10-16) on Saturday. Chicago opens as 5-point dogs. The over/under is set at 215.5.

The Bulls played the Heat and walked away with a win by a score of 124-116 in their last game. Chicago ended the game having earned a 48.4% field goal percentage (45 of 93) and knocked down 14 out of their 36 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulls buried 20 of 30 shots for a percentage of 66.7%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 43 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 32 assists for this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. When talking about the defense, Chicago allowed the other team to go 46.3% from the field on 37 out of 80 shooting. Miami earned 26 dimes and had 2 steals in this game. Moreover, Miami collected 42 rebounds (8 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Miami finished 77.1% from the charity stripe by converting 27 of 35 attempts. They also buried 15 of 34 shots from downtown. In relation to personal fouls, the Bulls ended up walking away with 23 while the Heat recorded 20 personal fouls.

Coby White is one player who was important for this game. White finished the contest at 45.0% from the field and totaled 11 assists. He saw the court for 40 mins and pulled down 7 rebounds. He notched 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting.

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Chicago heads into this matchup with a record of 10-16 this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.8 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 20.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Chicago is grabbing 42.8 boards per game and has racked up 614 assists for the campaign, which is 17th in basketball in terms of passing. The Bulls are shooting 36.4% on 3-point shots (316 of 867) and 77.9% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 109.7 points per contest (27th in the NBA) while shooting 44.7% from the floor.

On defense, the Bulls are forcing 15.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.4 fouls. They relinquish 37.8% on shots from downtown while they are 14th in the league in points per game allowed (113.5). The Bulls are giving up a FG percentage of 47.3% (1,044 of 2,206) and they concede 45.6 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 30th in the NBA in giving up assists with 724 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the Heat went home defeated by a final of 124-116 against the Bulls. The Heat collected 34 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 42 for this game. They gave up possession 10 times, while recording 2 steals for this game. The Bulls were called for 23 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Heat to the free throw line for a total of 35 tries. They were able to knock down 27 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 77.1%. In relation to 3-pointers, Miami converted 15 out of their 34 attempts (44.1%). When all was said and done, the Heat finished 37 out of 80 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3%. The Heat allowed the Bulls to convert 45 out of 93 attempts from the floor which had them at 48.4% for the game. They finished 38.9% from 3-point land by going 14 of 36 and finished the game at 20 of 30 at the free throw line (66.7%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Miami allowed Chicago to get 43 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Jaime Jaquez Jr. ended up being important for the Heat for this game. Jacquez scored 22 points in his 34 minutes on the court and tallied 4 assists in this matchup. He converted 6 of 14 for the contest giving him a rate of 42.9%, and had 4 rebounds.

Miami has a mark of 14-11 for the year. The Heat are committing 18.7 fouls per game and they hit 83.6% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 26.4 times per contest (10th in the league) and they cough up possession 13.3 times per contest. Miami has accumulated 2,820 pts for the year (112.8 per game) and they pull in 41.1 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Heat are shooting 47.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 17th in the NBA.

The Miami defense surrenders 38.0% from downtown (341 of 897) and opponents are knocking down 75.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 26.7 assists and 42.1 total rebounds per game, which ranks 18th and 6th in the NBA. The Heat defensively are ranked 9th in the league in points given up per game with 111.8. They are forcing 14.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 48.5% from the floor (22nd in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami (-5)

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