Miami Heat 7.5-Point Favorites in Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4
The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in a controversial 104-94 win on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The game was marked by physical play and tough fouls.
“Both teams are tough and aggressive,” said the Bulls’ Taj Gibson. “It’s playoff basketball. We’re both rivals. They acknowledged it. We acknowledged it. It’s just guys going after it playing like they don’t like each other. But it’s just playoff basketball.”
One of the defining plays of Game 3 came when Bulls reserve forward Nazr Mohammed was ejected after throwing LeBron James to the ground in a brief altercation. The Bulls accused James of flopping afterward, adding yet more fuel to the fire of an already competitive series.
“I don’t need to flop,” James said. “I play an aggressive game. I don’t flop. I’ve never been one of those guys. What I said is what I said, but I don’t want to get involved too much with what everybody else says about us, about me. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before in my career. It’s nothing. … I’m here to play basketball and do whatever it takes for our team to win. So what a coach and players say to me and about me, I don’t really care.”
For the Miami Heat, a team defined in the regular season by high-flying offense and transition scoring, the grind-it-out nature of this Chicago series has been a tough test. However, the Heat may emerge from it tougher than ever.
“You can’t win a championship being pretty and shiny,” Miami All-Star forward Chris Bosh said. “You’re going to have to get dirty. You’re going to have to play physical. You’re going to have to dive on the floor. You’re going to have to do things that are extremely tough. I think people forget just two years ago we were a half-court, grind-it-out kind of team that was trying to beat you down. Just because we’ve moved to more of a free-flowing offense, we’re more spread a little bit, that doesn’t mean that we are just a run-and-gun team.”
The Heat are 7.5-point favorites heading into the game tonight, once again at Chicago’s United Center. I think they will cover the spread, though it will once again be a brutal and hard-earned victory. Here are some of the other betting trends for both teams heading into tonight’s game, courtesy of OddsShark.com:
Miami Heat Trends:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Chicago are 7-3
After playing Chicago are 9-1
After a win are 9-1
Chicago Bulls Trends:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Miami are 8-2
After playing Miami are 6-4
After a loss are 6-4
A few Heat at Bulls trends to consider:
Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Miami is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami’s last 5 games when playing Chicago
Miami is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago’s last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago’s last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games when playing Miami
Chicago is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
