CHICAGO at MIAMI

CHICAGO at MIAMI
8p.m. CHICAGO at MIAMI
These two "also rans" met Jan 18th at MIAMI where MIAMI won 102-101 in double overtime. MIAMI held the edge in rebounds. BULLS outshot the HEAT 41-89(8-3 pters) to 39-89(4-3pters) for MIAMI. Game was actually won at the free throw line MIAMI 20 BULLS 11
CHICAGO played the next day on no rest in the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip after losing at NY 98-86 and losing 90-83 at N ORL
MIAMI played on 2 days rest after back to back games winning 88-85 vs DET and losing 104-81 at INDIANA.
MIAMI led by as many as 14, and at the end of 3 the score was MIAMI 76 BULLS 70. MIAMI faultered in the 4th leading to OT. In this game there were 24 steals and 23 blocked shots.

LAST YEAR
Nov 29 CHICAGO 78 MIAMI 72 in a low scoring affair at CHICAGO
MIAMI outshot CHICAGO 29-72 to 26-65 and also dominated the boards. The difference in the game was CHICAGO 26-39 MIAMI 13-16 from the free throw line. Only 1 3pt shot made in the game.
CHICAGO played on 1 day rest after being humiliated at NJ 100-68
HEAT played on 1 day rest after a close loss to BOSTON 84-83 at MIAMI

Jan 22nd MIAMI 92 CHICAGO 79 at MIAMI. FGs MIAMI 34-67 CHICAGO 32-75. MIAMI again dominated the boards.
MIAMI played on no rest after an OT win at CLEVELAND 95-93
CHICAGO played on no rest after 93-81 loss to INDIANA at CHICAGO
3 pters MIAMI 4-14 CHICAGO 6-12
FREE THROWS MIAMI 20-23 CHICAGO 9-17

Feb 18th MIAMI 102 CHICAGO 80 at MIAMI. FGs MIAMI 44-79 CHICAGO 25-60 3 pters MIAMI 3-9 CHICAGO 5-13. FREE THROWS MIAMI 11-20 CHICAGO 25-37
CHICAGO played on 1 day rest after back to back losses at home to NJ 106-81 and CLEVELAND 114-101
MIAMI played on no rest after a 93-80 loss at MINNESOTA
Keep in mind that in this game MIAMI led by as many as 28 pts to CHICAGO'S 2 and had 48 pts in the paint

Mar 6thMIAMI 92 CHICAGO 87. CHICAGO bested MIAMI on FGs 36-78 to MIAMI'S 32-72, held the boards and actually should have won this game. MIAMI bested them at the free throw line 25-36 to 12-15. MIAMI led by as many as 16, CHICAGO by as many as 8
MIAMI played on no rest after a close 93-91 win at DETROIT
CHICAGO played on no rest after suffering a 115-90 loss at WASHINGTON

BOTTOM LINE: CHICAGO at this point should be a bit tired, if not exhausted, 8th game in 12 days. Although MIAMI is just down the road from their last game in ORLANDO, it is still on the road and the road in the NBA is tough. On the other hand MIAMI has had 3 days rest after a 4 games in 5 days on the road, and are trying to end a 6 game losing streak. Where better to end it than at home vs a team that is tired and had a lot of bad luck? CHICAGO is a somewhat better all around team than MIAMI in my opinion, but under "these exact circumstances" I like MIAMI -6. I suppose that just as good of a case could be made for the BULLS, but I still like the HEAT minus the points