The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat battle it out in a meeting between two of the Eastern Conference’s best on Saturday. Both teams are missing some crucial players in this game, but it should still feature plenty of exciting action.
Will Chicago make a statement with a road win over Miami? Continue reading our Bulls vs. Heat NBA picks and predictions for December 11 to find out.
Bulls vs Heat odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The spread in this game hasn’t moved since open, with the Heat sticking as a 1-point favorite as of now. The total is all over the place, as it opened at 211 and can be found anywhere from 210 to 211.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Bulls vs Heat predictions
Predictions made on 12/11/2021 at 10:45 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for the 2021-22 NBA season, here are two of the best welcome bonuses available:
USA: Caesars Greetings! From now through 1/19/2022, any user that opts in to Caesars’ promotion and places $100 worth of settled bets (by 1/19) will receive a gift card for a FREE NBA Jersey. Opt in Now
Canada: Get a 100%-matched sign-up bonus (up to $400) at BetVictor. Claim Now
Bulls vs Heat game info
• Location: FTX Arena, Miami, FL
• Date: Saturday, December 11, 2021
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: BUSSUN, NBCS-CHI
Bulls vs Heat betting preview
Injuries
Bulls: Alex Caruso G (Questionable), Coby White G (Out), Javonte Green F (Out), Derrick Jones Jr. F (Out), DeMar DeRozan G (Out), Patrick Williams F (Out).
Heat: Duncan Robinson F (Probable), Jimmy Butler F (Out), Bam Adebayo C (Out), Markieff Morris F (Out), Victor Oladipo G (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Heat are 1-6 against the spread in their last seven games as favorites. Find more NBA betting trends for Bulls vs. Heat.
Bulls vs Heat picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The status of Alex Caruso is somewhat relevant in this game, but he was upgraded to questionable and that is generally a good sign. With Caruso in the lineup, it’d be very tough for the Heat to win this game. However, the Bulls would also be the better play if Caruso is forced to sit out another game with his hamstring injury.
With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both out, Chicago is just the more talented team than Miami at the moment. Sure, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro are capable of performing at high levels, but the Bulls have a very good defensive backcourt. Lonzo Ball is more than capable of guarding one of them and completely throwing them off, and then Miami would still have to deal with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic on the other end.
Without Adebayo, this could be a game in which Vucevic really feasts at all three levels. The Heat have successfully turned to small ball with Adebayo out, as they played P.J. Tucker 35 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks last game. They also gave KZ Okpala 32 minutes in that one, with the young forward playing a lot of minutes at power forward. That strategy isn’t as likely to work against the Bulls, who are extremely well-disciplined defensively and have now had the chance to see how Miami played on film.
This one is worth taking earlier rather than later, as the value is just too good knowing that a Caruso update can tilt it significantly in Chicago’s favor.
Prediction: Bulls +1 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Bulls and Heat are both far from full strength right now, but these teams are both inside the Top 10 in defensive rating. Chicago is fifth in the league, showing that this defense is just about as good as it gets. And if Caruso plays, the Bulls will have one of their most impactful perimeter defenders and somebody to join Ball in hounding the Heat’s guards.
Considering DeRozan is out for this one, Chicago will also be worse on the offensive end. All of that plays into the hands of an Under bettor in this game, and it also doesn’t hurt that neither one of these teams are in the Top 10 in pace of play.
The Bulls come into this game after having gone Under the total in three games in a row. The Under is also 25-12 when the total is between 210 and 219.5 in Chicago’s games under head coach Billy Donovan. On top of that, the Under is 7-3 when Chicago is an underdog this season.
Prediction: Under 211.5 (-118)
Best bet
The Heat are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games and 0-4 against the spread in their last four when coming off a straight-up win. Meanwhile, the Bulls are 5-1 against the spread when coming off a straight-up or ATS loss. Also, since Donovan entered the NBA, his teams are 14-3 against the spread when coming off a road loss of 20 points or more. Those teams won those games by an average margin of 7.5 points per game, showing that Donovan knows how to get his teams up after a lousy performance.
Oddly enough, the road team is also 9-1 against the spread in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Pick: Bulls +1 (-110)
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s NBA Bulls vs. Heat predictions and picks in a single-game parlay, you could win $25.27 on a $10 bet?
Use our NBA parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
