The Chicago Bulls return home to host the Miami Heat in NBA Cup Group Play on Friday night.
The Bulls have won two straight games after a five-game skid, and the Heat have also won their last two contests after dropping their previous two.
The oddsmakers have the Bulls as slight home favorites at the best betting sites on Friday night.
Let’s take a look at the odds, players to watch and my prediction for Friday night’s matchup.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Heat Injury Report
Bulls Injury Report
Bulls Best NBA Prop Bet
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis has been an efficient three-point shooter this season. He rarely has more than a few threes in a game, but he also doesn’t chuck up a ton from deep either.
Buzelis averaged 1.2 threes on 3.3 attempts per game during his rookie season, and is up to 1.8 threes on 4.4 attempts per game through 14 contests this season. He’s in a starting role as a sophomore, seeing his points per game go up from 8.6 to 14.7 thus far.
The 6-foot-8 forward has made at least two three pointers in four of his last five games and 10 of 12 contests since starting the season 0 for 5 in his first two games.
The Heat allow 14.5 threes per game, and I’ll take Buzelis to get his two tonight.
The Miami Heat are only 2-5 on the road this season, but they’ve been underdogs in all seven games. They managed upset wins in Memphis and over the Clippers on a back-to-back, and actually have the schedule advantage tonight.
This will be the first Bulls’ home game after a four-game road trip out West. They’ve had just one day off since beating Portland by one, and dropped their last home game 121-117 to the Spurs.
I’ll take the Heat outright on Friday night in Chicago.
Pick: Heat (+120)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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