Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat NBA Pick

Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat NBA Pick: The Heat have been on watch lately, and not “elite basketball by Miami’s new Big 3” – more on par with watching a train wreck because you can’t keep your eyes off of it. That may be a little drastic, but after losing three straight games, and 4 out of 5, the Heat have tumbled off that high pedestal they climbed on just before the All-Star Break.

Even worse than losing has been the way the Heat have lost. Against Chicago, New York, and Orlando (all three losses recently) they were up late in every game. This Heat team just can’t finish. They really went cold against New York after being ahead all night. They were up by 20+ against Orlando before allowing them to get back in the game. And as if it couldn’t get any worse – the San Antonio Spurs came out and jumped up 20 from the get-go, stomping on the Heat and never letting them back in the game to even sniff a chance. Something the Heat have been unable to do all season long. Their only win during that 5 game stretch was against Washington – and the Wizards were down just 4 points headed into the final quarter. The Heat aren’t what we thought they were, and something tells me we won’t be letting them off the hook.

As far as Chicago, I think they’re the best team in the Eastern Conference, maybe in the NBA, and I expect them to give the Heat all kinds of trouble. The Heat may have better players, but the Bulls have better pieces that make a team full. Rose is the best ball handler on the floor, Noah the best post defender, Boozer the best post scorer, and Deng might be the only wing that doesn’t need the ball to be successful. Sounds like good pieces to me. The Heat have 2 guys that do basically the same thing, create and distribute, but score first – and while they might be 2 of the best players in the NBA, I’m not sure they fit perfectly on the team. Bosh doesn’t defend like Noah and can’t score on the block like Boozer – he’s more of a jump shooting big man.

I Like the Bulls in this one.

Chicago Bulls (+5) @ Miami Heat (abc) (3/5)