Game of the day: TNT NBA Thursday doubleheader
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat (-1, 191.5)
The Miami Heat started their stretch of five “must-win” games with a victory and look to build on that when they host the playoff-bound Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. The Heat are tied with Indiana for ninth place in the Eastern Conference – trailing both Brooklyn and Boston by one game for seventh with four games left on each team’s slate.
Miami knocked off Charlotte 105-100 on Tuesday behind 28 points from Goran Dragic as the Heat ended a four-game losing streak by grinding out their third win in their last 10 games. “It ain’t got to be pretty,” Miami All Star Dwyane Wade told the Sun-Sentinel. “You’ve just got to find a way.” Chicago got former MVP Derrick Rose back in the lineup Wednesday after knee surgery kept him out since late February, but the Bulls dropped a 105-103 decision at Orlando. Rose scored nine points in 19 minutes as Chicago dropped into a tie with Toronto for third in the East – one game ahead of fifth-place Washington.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, WPWR (Chicago)
LINE HISTORY: Oddsmakers opened the Heat as 1.5-point faves. The total opened at 191.5.
INJURY REPORT: Heat – F Micheal Beasley (Ques-Knee), C Hassan Whiteside (Probable, hand), F Chris Andersen (Probable, foot), F Luol Deng (Probable, knee), G Mario Chalmers (Questionable, illness).
POWER RANKINGS: Bulls (-7.6) + Heat (-2.3) + Homecourt (-3) = Heat +2.3
WHAT CAPPERS SAY: “After ending March on a 10-1 Over Run, the Bulls are 3-0 Under in April. The numbers say that this should not be a playoff team. At 3-7 SU/2-8 ATS in their last 10, the Heat aren’t playing like one either.” Bryan Power
ABOUT THE BULLS (46-32 SU, 36-42 ATS, 39-38-1 O/U): Rose, who slated for only 20 minutes, did not play in the fourth quarter as Orlando rallied from an eight-point deficit and held the Bulls to 16 points. Jimmy Butler, who leads the team in scoring (20.1), was 5-of-6 from the field in the first three quarters before missing three of four attempts in the final 12 minutes. Center Pau Gasol leads the league with 50 double-doubles and is scoring 18.5 per contest — 15 on Wednesday — but is averaging only 11 points and shooting 34.5 percent in two games against Miami this season
ABOUT THE HEAT (35-43 SU, 33-41-4 ATS, 34-44 O/U): Just who will be available is likely a game-time decision for Miami with Michael Beasley (knee, illness) and Mario Chalmers (illness) questionable, while Chris Andersen (foot), Hassan Whiteside (hand) and Luol Deng (knee) are probable. Wade has poured in 23.3 points per game the last three and Dragic, who is expected to play his 500th NBA contest, is averaging 16.6 points since being acquired from Phoenix. Udonis Haslem received more playing time the last two games, posting 18 points and 18 rebounds combined.
TRENDS:
* Under is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
* Bulls are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 vs. NBA Southeast.
* Over is 4-0 in Heat last four vs. NBA Central.
* Heat are 0-5 ATS in their last five games overall.
CONSENSUS: 62 percent of bettors are backing the Bulls.
Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors (-9.5, 209)
The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of their longest losing streak of the season, though at this point it doesn’t really matter. The Portland Trail Blazers figure to be the much more desperate team when they visit the Warriors on Thursday.
Golden State already has locked up the best record in the league and the best record in franchise history but had some trouble in the final two games of its road trip, falling at San Antonio and New Orleans. The Warriors were run off the floor from the start against the Spurs but let a lead slip away against the Pelicans, who could see Golden State in the first round of the playoffs. “They brought it. We knew they were going to bring it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of the Pelicans. “They’re fighting for the playoffs. I was really pleased with our competitiveness in the first half, and then in the second half, we weren’t ready for their desperation.” The Trail Blazers are fighting for homecourt advantage in the first round and are 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 9-point home faves. The total opened 209.5.
INJURY REPORT: N/A
POWER RANKINGS: Trail Blazers (-9.8) + Warriors (-15.2) + Homecourt (-3) = Warriors -8.4
WHAT CAPPERS SAY: “It’s an almost certainty that the Blazers will be the 4-seed in the Western Conference, but will they have homecourt advantage? That likely determines whether or not they advance past the first round of the playoffs for a second straight year. It’ll take more than just back-to-back losses (for the 1st time since January!) to prevent the Warriors from a near wire to wire reign on top of these rankings where second place was never even really close.” – Bryan Power
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (51-27 SU, 40-37-1 ATS, 36-41-1 O/U): Portland left All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge (thumb) home from its trip to Brooklyn on Monday, and he looked plenty refreshed in a 116-91 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Aldridge went for 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 13 rebounds against Minnesota’s depleted frontline for his second straight double-double and best shooting performance this month. The Trail Blazers will play three of their final four games on the road, where they are 19-19.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (63-15 SU, 46-31-1 ATS, 36-42 O/U): Golden State won 12 in a row before its mini-slide and is trying to balance staying sharp with getting players enough rest over the last week. MVP candidate Stephen Curry certainly doesn’t seem to be wearing down with 10 made 3-pointers in the last two games, but he missed the mark on his final attempt in New Orleans and still sees room for improvement. “I don’t think anybody is happy with the way the past two games have gone, but it’s no time to panic,” Curry told reporters. “It’s just about learning lessons.”
TRENDS:
* Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings.
* Over is 6-1 in Warriors last seven home games.
* Trail Blazers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 vs. NBA Pacific.
* Under is 4-0 in Trail Blazers last four overall.
CONSENSUS: 52 percent of bettors are backing the Warriors.