In the opening game of the new NBA season, Miami will face Chicago, who have looked convincing in recent home games.
Tournament – NBA;
Date – 20.10.2022;
Kick-Off – 00:30 UK;
Venue – FTX Arena (19.600);
City – Miami, Florida, USA.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (-5) for Heat – 1.74.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Points Over 218 – 2.16.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – Heat to win 1st Quarter – 1.62.
Both squads have looked excellent in pre-season and will clearly play to win the head-to-head encounter. The Bulls have rarely been successful in Miami before and with the team’s leader injured, there’s little chance of beating the Heat on their court. The Heat looks very imposing right now and is unlikely to let their opponents get comfortable. We believe that the home team will be able to put their class and current form advantage to good use and beat Chicago by a wide margin.
The visitors are determined to fight for points in this encounter and will not give up the win so easily. The Bulls have good players in their squad, who could well replace the missing star performer. In our opinion, the clash between the two brightest representatives in the league will be played in an entertaining manner and will bring a high final score.
The Bulls have lost three times in the opening quarter in the previous five away matches.
The Miami Heat were semi-finalists last season. The Heat lost in 1/2 to the Celtics – 3-4 in the series.
Prior to that, the Miami Heat were able to defeat the 76ers in the quarterfinals (4-2) and the Atlanta Hawks in the 1/8 (4-1).
The Miami Heat won the Eastern Conference and finished the season in 1st place. The Heat won 53 games and lost only 29.
In the preseason, the Heat defeated the Pelicans (120-103), Rockets (118-110), Grizzlies (111-108) and Nets (109-80). However, they lost to the Timberwolves (111-121).
The Heat have won seven in their last ten home games against the Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls were in the NBA playoffs last season. The team reached the 1/8 finals of the tournament. The Bulls lost at this stage to the Milwaukee Bucks (1-4).
The team finished in the top six in the regular season. In 82 games, the Bulls had 46 wins and 36 losses.
In the preseason, the Bulls defeated the Bucks (127-104), Raptors (115-98), and Nuggets (131-131), but lost to the Pelicans (125-129).
In our opinion, the teams will take to the field with the following line-ups:
Miami Heat: Kyle Lowry – Max Strus – Duncan Robinson – Jimmy Butler – Bam Adebayo.
Chicago Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan – Patrick Williams – Nikola Vucevic.
Victor Oladipp (Out) and Omer Yurtseven (Out) are listed as injured for the Heat.
Lonzo Ball (Out) and Alex Caruso (Day-to-day) are listed as injured for the Bulls.
In Miami’s last five home meetings, more than 52.5 points have been scored in the second quarter. We offer to bet on “2nd Quarter Points – Over 52.5” with odds of 1.85.
The fixture will be played at FTX Arena (19.600), Miami, Florida, USA.
This starting whistle will sound on the 20th of October, 2022, at 00:30 UK Time.
We recommend checking out the odds for the NBA: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls at 1xBet.