Play-in preview: Offensive efficiency stands out in Bulls' season sweep of Miami
The Bulls went 3-0 against Miami this season, winning by 8, 10 and 14 points. Should they be favored in Friday's play-in game?
The oddsmakers say no, but the Bulls should be feeling good about their chances of landing the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed. While the Bulls pulled off a 19-point comeback to beat Toronto on Wednesday, Miami delivered a sluggish performance Tuesday and lost at home to Atlanta.
The Bulls might have seen themselves while watching that game tape. With a chance to move up to eighth place on April 4, the Bulls were smashed by the Hawks at the United Center.
"We match up well against them," Zach LaVine said of the Heat. "Obviously, this is once again a one-and-done situation, we have to go in with the same mindset. It's going to be whoever wants it more. I think it comes down to that."
Miami had an odd finish to the season. After the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it seemed logical the Heat could move past Brooklyn into the No. 6 seed and not have to worry about the play-in.
The Heat did make it to sixth place. But then on March 25, a well-rested Miami team was blown out at home by the Nets 129-100. From that point, the Heat sank into the seventh spot and are now in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.
Are the Heat wearing down? They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last year and have several key players moving up in age. Point guard Kyle Lowry, who spent six seasons playing with DeMar DeRozan in Toronto, turned 37 the day Miami lost to Brooklyn.
The Heat are also dealing with changing lineups. Lowry played in 11 of 23 games after the all-star break. Victor Oladipo played in 16, while Miami added veteran forward Kevin Love with mixed results.
What's stood out in the head-to-head matchups is how efficient the Bulls have been offensively. DeRozan averaged 28.3 points and shot 64.7% against the Heat. LaVine, who missed the season opener in Miami, averaged 19.5 points on 55.6% shooting, while Nikola Vucevic was at 19.0 points and 63.2%.
The last time the teams met, on March 18 at the United Center, Patrick Beverley had his best shooting performance with the Bulls, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers for 17 points. As a team, the Bulls went 17-for-34 from long range that day.
"If you're a competitor, regardless of the circumstances of how you got to this point, you do want to embrace this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Thursday. "I think these kind of environments are fun for the players and we're coming off a tough loss the other night."
The winner has little time to warm up for the real playoffs. Game 1 at Milwaukee is set for Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
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