Sport: NBAPick Selection: Chicago Bulls +1.5 -110
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat 7:30 PM ET
Chicago Bulls +1.5 -110
Taking a look at what Chicago did last game and we should see a very confident Bulls team on the court in Miami. Chicago rallied from an 18-point, 4th quarter deficit at Milwaukee and pulled out an improbable win in overtime. Those are the type of wins that stays with a team for a while and with a big stretch of road games coming up, it couldn?t have come at a better time. The Bulls have now won three straight games and six of their last eight which is their best eight-game run since the end of December.
Give a lot of credit to the Miami Heat as they have won four of six games since Dwyane Wade went down with a possible season ending shoulder injury, one that he has since said he is going to rehab. Miami has been winning with defense, something that Chicago is accustomed to, and this could be one of the toughest matchups the Heat have since Wade went down. Ben Gordon has averaged 37 ppg in the two meetings this season, both Chicago wins and Ben Wallace will be all over Shaq, who has looked like a new man of late.
Miami is above .500 for the first time since November 20th and it has won nine straight games at home. That is all well and good but the Hear are just 7-13 against teams ranked within the top 10 in the league and they are still a ways down the power chart themselves. The victory over Milwaukee improved the Bulls' overall record to 35-27, their road record to 11-19 and keeps them within percentage points of third place in the jumbled Eastern Conference standings. It?s the confidence level that we are banking on big time.
Chicago falls into a solid late season situation. Play On all teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are good pressure defensive teams, forcing 16 or more turnovers per game in March games. This situation is 27-7 ATS (79.4 percent) over the last 5 seasons with the average point differential being +4.8 ppg. Also, Chicago is 21-9 ATS (70 percent) after scoring 100 points or more two straight games over the last two seasons, while Miami is 5-15 ATS (25 percent) in home games after two or more consecutive wins over the last two seasons. The Bulls quiet the Heat. Play Chicago Bulls 2 Units
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