Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat Prediction on April 16, 2025

Match info

The Chicago Bulls (38-43) will play the Miami Heat (37-45) at home in the United Center on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. local time in the 2025 SoFi Play-in Tournament elimination round of the 2024–25 NBA (National Basketball Association). In the most popular men’s club basketball competition in the world, the North American championship, the Bulls placed ninth in the East, while the Heat came in 10th.

In probably the most crucial game of the season for both, which team will successfully open the series, move on to fight for their conference’s No. 8 seed, and rescue their campaign?

Go over the prediction and preview.

Meeting statistics

The current form of the Chicago Bulls

Starting in the second week of March, Chicago won over 70% of their games, turning around its ongoing NBA campaign. They ended the Regular season with a 13-3 run after defeating top teams throughout that time. Therefore, there’s undoubtedly a desire to give an upper hand to Chicago, which opened as a match favorite on sites for the best online basketball betting and will be at home too. That end-of-season run includes a 119-111 home win over Miami, completing a three-game regular-season sweep over the Heat.

They’ve scored 122.7 points per game over the last 15 games (second in the league). The Bulls’ effort is defined by the outstanding backcourt offense provided by Coby White and Josh Giddey. A major factor in the Bulls’ increased output is Giddey’s ability to improve the play of those around him. The Aussie guard is mostly responsible for the ball movement and locating his team’s best scorers, not just White but also Nikola Vučević. In an elimination game, we have more faith in Chicago’s offense than the Heat’s.

The current form of the Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo is now much more like the All-Star version of himself, and the Heat have an 8-4 record in their previous 12 games. When comparing the players from Miami and Chicago, there’s a rather noticeable difference in experience. Adebayo and Tyler Herro, two of Miami’s most prominent players, have both advanced far in the Playoffs. Both of them have previously avoided the Play-In. Additionally, both of them are currently in a groove.

Herro is shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc and averaging 27.4 points and 4.9 assists over the aforementioned 12-game span. In the same time frame, Adebayo had 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. On Wednesday, those two will perform admirably, and Miami will receive just enough assistance from the youthful supporting cast to win on the road.

However, why did we state that, in an elimination game, we have greater faith in Chicago’s offense than the Heat’s? Since they traded Jimmy Butler before the trade deadline, the latter is ranked 25th in the NBA in terms of points per game (110.1). Indeed, the Heat’s scoring improved in the latter part of the season. They finished the season with 110.5 points per game (16th), but in the final 15 games, they surged to 114.6 points (15th). Considering the team’s already strong defense, this is a significant improvement. As the foundation of their effort, the Heat is one of just seven teams to give up fewer than 110 points.

Head-to-head

With a 5–9 point advantage in each game, the Bulls won the 2024–25 Regular-season series against the Heat. They’ll therefore be very confident going into the next game. Including the Regular season and Playoffs, the Bulls and Heat have faced off in 165 games overall. The Bulls’ overall record versus the Heat is 86-79 (52.1%).

Match analytics

The teams scored 257, 223, and 230 points in their three encounters. Given that the Bulls won each of these games, they were the ones had to press the scoring button more. The Bulls will be shooting constantly, whereas the Heat wouldn’t want shootout situations. For the first time this season between these two teams, we anticipate that the seasoned Miami team will turn up the defensive intensity, which could keep the score below 220.

Tip: Total: Under (220), with odds of 1.82 on LEGZO Casino.