Heat vs. Bulls Prediction, Friday NBA Picks: Josh Giddey Battles Miami's Bigs

The Emirates NBA Cup resumes tonight across the league, highlighted by a matchup in East Group C between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.

Both the Heat and Bulls own 1-1 records among the five-team group with the Bucks leading the way at 2-0. Each team has two games remaining before the close of group play.

Miami (9-6) seeks its third straight victory after beating New York and Golden State at home, as the Heat embark on a short two-game road trip.

The Bulls (8-6) return home following a 2-2 road swing, capped off by a 122-121 buzzer-beating dub at Portland on Wednesday night.

Let’s look at the Heat vs. Bulls prediction and picks for Friday night’s showdown at United Center, tipping off at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Heat vs. Bulls Prediction, Friday NBA Picks

• The Heat caught a break on Wednesday, facing a short-handed Warriors team as Miami rallied for a 110-96 victory.
• Miami played six of its last seven games at home, going 5-1 at the Kaseya Center in this stretch.
• The road has not been as kind for head coach Erik Spoelstra’s team, as Miami owns a 2-5 away mark.
• Chicago threw away a 21-point fourth quarter lead at Portland on Wednesday. It was a happy ending for the Bulls as C Nikola Vucevic drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 122-121 victory.
• Following losses at Detroit and Utah to open its four-game road swing, Chicago stunned Denver with no rest and knocked off Portland. 
• The Bulls have won five of six games at United Center with the lone defeat coming to San Antonio on November 10.
• Chicago received a jolt on this trip with the return of G Coby White. The former UNC standout scored 27 points at Utah and 25 points at Portland after missing the first 11 games with a calf injury.
• The Heat are dealing with several key injuries, highlighted by G Tyler Herro still waiting to make his season debut. Herro has been sidelined by a foot injury and hopes to return before the end of the month. 
• Heat F Andrew Wiggins and F Nikola Jovic are each out tonight with hip injuries.  

Miami Heat

• Miami has shot better from the floor on the road than at home. The Heat has hit 48.8% of its field goal attempts and 39.1% from downtown in seven away contests.
• The Heat are the fastest paced team in the league at 106.2. Last season, the highest pace club was Memphis at 103.6.
• Miami has eclipsed the 130-point mark in five games, including a pair of performances of more than 144 points in regulation.

Chicago Bulls 

• The Bulls are third in the league in pace, not far off from finishing second in this category last season.
• In spite of the 8-6 record, the Bulls are 18th in the league in net rating at -0.1.
• Chicago is the third-best team from downtown, hitting 39.4% of its attempts.

Heat vs. Bulls Prediction, Friday NBA Picks

Here are three top Heat vs. Bulls picks to target on Friday. Key PrizePicks player projections are headlined by Miami C Bam Adebayo, Chicago G Josh Giddey, and Heat F Jaime Jaquez, Jr.

Heat C Bam Adebayo vs. Bulls Projection: 20.5 Points

• Adebayo returned from a six-game absence to score 20 points in Wednesday’s win over Golden State.
• The gold medal winning Olympian is averaging 19.9 points per game, which includes the 2-point performance at Denver on November 5 when he sustained a toe injury.
• Bam’s road numbers have suffered, hitting 44.1% from the field, compared to 50% at home. His 3-point shooting has fallen off on the road as well, shooting 32.4%. 
• In four matchups last season, Adebayo averaged 19.5 ppg, capped off by 15 points in the play-in tournament victory.

Bulls G Josh Giddey vs. Heat Projection: 20.5 Points

• Giddey is putting together a strong start, racking up 20.8 ppg in his fifth season.
• He is coming off his worst offensive outing through 12 games, scoring 9 points on 3-of-9 shooting in Wednesday’s win at Portland.
• The Aussie has been more productive at home, racking up 23.6 ppg, including 32 points against the Knicks on Halloween. 
• In spite of his high scoring average at United Center, Giddey has finished below 20 points in three of five home games.

Heat G Jaime Jaquez, Jr. vs. Bulls Projection: 26.5 Pts+Rebs

• Jaquez has been a force off the bench for Miami, averaging 16.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
• The former UCLA star has scored in double-figures in eight straight games, while producing a pair of double-doubles.
• In three of the past four games, Jaquez has not racked up more than 27 combined points and rebounds.
• Jaquez put up 23 points and 9 rebounds in his last road game at New York last Friday. 
• In the past four games, Jaquez has struggled from the floor, connecting on 22-of-58 shots at a 37.9% clip.

The Heat and Bulls lock horns for the first time this season after Miami knocked Chicago out of the play-in tournament last April.

There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every NBA moment than with PrizePicks.

There is a wide variety of player stat projections on the NBA board, so you can build your Lineup however you’d like — with no salary or positional restrictions. Just pick at least two player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks.

Check out the Playbook throughout the remainder of the NBA season for more analysis for your PrizePicks and NBA DFS Lineups.