Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 3/18/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (-3)

United Center is where the Chicago Bulls will attempt to beat the Miami Heat on Saturday. Chicago opens this game as 3-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 232.

The Heat stepped onto the hardwood against the Grizzlies and went home with a win by a final score of 138-119 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Heat finished with 16 and the Grizzlies recorded 20 personal fouls. They buried 18 out of their 46 attempts from long range. Memphis finished 64.3% when shooting free throws by converting 9 of their 14 tries. Furthermore, Memphis had 39 rebounds (12 offensive, 27 defensive) and earned 5 rejections. Memphis recorded 29 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. With regard to defending, Miami allowed the other team to go 50.5% from the floor on 46 of 91 shooting. They also recorded 33 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 41 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Heat knocked down 27 of 33 tries for a percentage of 81.8%. Miami walked away from the contest having earned a 59.8% field goal percentage (49 of 82) and converted 13 out of their 29 3-point attempts.

Bam Adebayo is one player who had an impact in this contest. He recorded 26 points on 10 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Adebayo finished 66.7% from the field and also distributed 3 assists.

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Miami will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 38-33 on the campaign. They cough up possession 13.6 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.7 personal fouls every game. As a team, Miami is snagging 40.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 1,663 assists this year, which has them ranked 22nd in the league in terms of passing. The Heat are hitting 33.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (829 of 2,443) and 83.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 109.1 points per outing (30th in basketball) while hitting 45.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Heat are forcing 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.2 fouls. They give up 36.8% on shots from downtown and they are 2nd in basketball in points per game allowed (109.6). The Heat defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 47.9% (2,837 of 5,920) and they concede 42.1 rebounds per game as a team. They are 19th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,796 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Bulls went home defeated by a final of 117-114 when they faced the Kings. When discussing rebounding, Chicago permitted Sacramento to collect 45 in all (5 offensive). They wrapped up this game 42.9% from three-point range by shooting 18 out of 42 and walked away from this one shooting 23 of 29 from the free throw line (79.3%). The Bulls allowed the Kings to knock down 38 out of their 78 tries from the floor which had them shooting 48.7% for the contest. When this game wrapped up, the Bulls finished the game shooting 38 for 97 from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.2%. With regard to three-point shots, Chicago buried 16 out of 42 attempts (38.1%). They were able to knock down 22 of them for a percentage of 88.0%. The Kings committed 19 fouls for the contest which got the Bulls to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They coughed it up 14 times, while recording 13 steals in the game. The Bulls were able to snag 35 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 48 in the matchup.

DeMar DeRozan ended up having an impact for the Bulls in this contest. He knocked down 10 of 20 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and tallied 3 rebounds. DeRozan racked up 33 points in his 40 mins of playing time and had 3 dimes for this game.

Chicago has a record of 31-37 on the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Bulls are shooting 48.9% from the field, which is 5th in the league. Chicago has totaled 7,696 pts on the year (113.2 per game) and they pull in 42.8 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.2 times per game (21st in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 13.8 times per contest. The Bulls commit 19.4 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 81.0% from the charity stripe.

The Bulls defensively are ranked 10th in the league in PPG surrendered with 112.5. They are forcing 14.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.8% from the field (8th in basketball). The Chicago defense surrenders 35.6% on 3-pointers (898 of 2,521) and opponents are making 78.0% of their free throw attempts. They give up 25.8 dimes and 43.1 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 20th and 14th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami (-3)

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