Miami is now 16-15 and winners of 4 straight
Game Story:
The Miami Heat are coming back to the 305 after going undefeated on their recent 4 game road trip. The winning streak of 4 games isn’t anything crazy, but it’s a very good start in hopes of turning this season around. The Heat have climbed from 14th place to 7th place and are finally over the .500 mark.
Their latest win in Mexico City against the Spurs was a great game to build on. With Kyle Lowry sitting out that game, the rest of the core four in Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo all contributed 20+ points. Role players like Victor Oladipo and Duncan Robinson all proved to be valuable pieces as well. Oladipo has looked extremely impressive on the defensive end.
Against the Spurs he was able to tally 5 steals and 10 deflections.
Yes, his offense has looked slightly rusty, but his defensive presence is much needed in this thin Heat rotation. Expect him to guard talented players like Zach Lavine and Demar Derozen tonight. As for the Bulls, they are coming off a pretty ugly loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are going to have a chip on their shoulder to try and bounce back from that performance.
Chicago was able to defeat Miami on opening night this season, so the Heat are going to be looking for some revenge. This is a different team as opening night, as players are starting to get more comfortable and in rhythm both offensively and defensively. A good sign is that the injury report is getting smaller. The only players out are Gabe Vincent, Omer Yurtseven and Jamal Cain.
Lowry, Caleb Martin and Udonis Haslem are all listed as questionable. It is going to be closer to a gametime decision to see if the Heat will need people to step up in their starting PG and PF’s absence again.
Injury Report:
Heat
- Jimmy Butler, probable
- Dewayne Dedmon, probable
- Kyle Lowry, questionable
- Caleb Martin, questionable
- Udonis Haslem, questionable
- Jamal Cain, out
- Gabe Vincent, out
- Omer Yurtseven, out
Bulls
- Javonte Green, questionable
- Lonzo Ball, out
- Malcolm Hill, out
- Carlik Jones, out
- Marko Simonovic, out
- Dalen Terry, out
Probable Starters:
Heat
- Jimmy Butler
- Caleb Martin
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Kyle Lowry
Bulls
- Demar Derozen
- Patrick Williams
- Nikola Vucevic
- Zach Lavine
- Alex Caruso
ODDS (via FanDuel)
Check the odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
TV: Bally Sports Sun (Eric Reid, John Crotty)
Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!