Chicago @ Miami preview
Kaseya Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 11, 2021 ) Chicago 92, Miami 118
The Chicago Bulls and the host Miami Heat are set to meet Monday night in a clash of the two top teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat, who hold a one-game lead over the Bulls, boast a 20-7 record at home this season.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team's upcoming week against contenders Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Philadelphia is not a "be all, end all." He added, "But you also don't want to brush it off. You can't just say it's another game."
The Bulls had won six in a row before dropping a 116-110 decision to Memphis on Saturday.
Chicago has lost both meetings with Miami this season.
In fact, the Bulls are a combined 1-10 against the six other teams that started this week with a winning percentage of better than .600: Phoenix (0-1), Golden State (0-2), Memphis (0-2), Utah (1-0), Miami (0-2) and Philadelphia (0-3).
Despite the team's lackluster record in such contests, Chicago guard Coby White said, "We take it as a challenge to play against the better teams."
The Bulls, who have yet to have a losing month this season, are 8-4 in February.
They have withstood serious injuries to three key players, as Patrick Williams (wrist), Lonzo Ball (knee) and Alex Caruso (wrist) are on the sideline.
However, Bulls coach Billy Donovan still has talented players, and that's evident on the wings with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. Chicago's center, Nikola Vucevic, is the team's third player with All-Star experience, and White and Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu have stepped in to replace Ball as the lead guards.
DeRozan is fourth in the NBA in scoring (28.3) entering play on Sunday, while LaVine is 13th (24.6).
Vucevic, who is averaging 17.9 points, is fifth in the league in rebounds (11.7).
Ball was averaging 5.1 assists before he got hurt. White (2.9) and Dosunmu (3.1) are sharing playing time in his place.
Of those five healthy Bulls, White, LaVine and Dosunmu are shooting better than 40 percent on 3-pointers.
Tristan Thompson, who signed with Chicago on Feb. 19, gives the Bulls a fierce rebounder off the bench. Thompson has an 8.5 career rebound average.
The Bulls surely will be wary of Duncan Robinson, who is averaging 21.0 points in the two games against Chicago this season. For the season, he is at 11.4 points per game.
Jimmy Butler, who played his first six NBA seasons with the Bulls, leads Miami in scoring (21.9) and steals (1.8). Tyler Herro, who is averaging 20.3 points, is one of the top bench players in the NBA, and versatile center Bam Adebayo leads the team in rebounds (10.3) while averaging 19.0 points and 3.5 assists.
Two of Miami's top "glue" guys are point guard Kyle Lowry and defensive-minded forward P.J. Tucker.
Lowry ranks eighth in the league in assists (7.9) entering play on Sunday. Tucker leads the NBA in 3-point percentage (45.4).
--Field Level Media