Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 1/8/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBA TV

The Miami Heat (20-17) are traveling to United Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the Chicago Bulls (17-19).

The Heat stepped onto the hardwood against the Timberwolves and ended up losing by a score of 122-94 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Heat walked away with 20 while the Timberwolves totaled 23 fouls. They knocked down 14 of their 39 attempts from distance. Minnesota went 78.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 18 of their 23 tries. Moreover, Minnesota totaled 63 rebounds (11 offensive, 52 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Minnesota distributed 27 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. When it comes to defense, Miami let their opponent shoot 45.9% from the field on 45 of 98 shooting. They also distributed 28 dimes in this game in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Regarding pulling down boards, they compiled 50 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Heat knocked down 12 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Miami walked away from the game having earned a 35.7% FG percentage (35 out of 98) and converted 12 of their 37 3-pointers.

Norman Powell is someone who was important in this contest. Powell shot 52.9% from the floor and distributed 4 assists. He was on the court for 31 mins and pulled down 3 rebounds. He racked up 21 points on 9 out of 17 shooting.

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Miami will take the court with a mark of 20-17 on the campaign. They are giving up possession 14.4 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Miami is pulling in 45.6 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,062 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 3rd in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Heat are hitting 37.0% on shots from downtown (487 of 1,315) and 79.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 120.1 points per game (3rd in the league) while going 46.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Heat have forced 16.2 turnovers per game while drawing 20.3 fouls. They are 23rd in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,004 surrendered for the campaign. The Heat defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.9% (1,586 of 3,457) and they relinquish 47.2 boards per game as a squad. They relinquish 34.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 20th in the league in PPG from their opponents (117.4).

For their last game, the Bulls took a loss by a final score of 115-101 when they played the Celtics. With respect to attacking the glass, Chicago permitted Boston to get 54 in total (20 on the offensive glass). They finished 38.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 20 of 52 and ended up shooting 11 out of 13 at the free throw line (84.6%). The Bulls allowed the Celtics to make 42 of their 104 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 40.4% for the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Bulls went 38 out of 86 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.2%. Concerning shooting from distance, Chicago made 16 of their 46 tries (34.8%). They were able to knock down 9 of the free throw tries for a clip of 90.0%. The Celtics earned 11 fouls in this game which got the Bulls to the charity stripe for 10 attempts. They also coughed it up 13 times, while recording 2 steals in this contest. The Bulls snagged 39 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 in this matchup.

Matas Buzelis ended up being a major contributor for the Bulls in this game. He made 9 of 12 for this game for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 3 rebounds. Buzelis racked up 26 points in his 31 minutes on the court and earned 2 dimes in this game.

Chicago has a record of 17-19 this year. The Bulls are responsible for committing 19.1 fouls every game and they connect on 78.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 29.4 times per contest (3rd in the league) and they turn it over 14.7 times per game. Chicago has 4,240 points for the year (117.8 per contest) and they average 45.6 boards per game. As an offense, the Bulls are shooting 47.3% from the floor, which is 13th in the NBA.

The Bulls are ranked 26th in the NBA in points given up per game with 121.6. They are forcing 12.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.3% from the floor (20th in basketball). The Chicago defense gives up 36.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (503 of 1,372) and their opponents are converting on 78.0% of their foul shots. They concede 27.5 dimes and 45.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 22nd and 23rd in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Chicago

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