The Chicago Bulls play the Miami Heat in the final Eastern Conference play-in game on Friday night. The first pitch for this must-win game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
Chicago advanced to this game after defeating the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Toronto, while the Heat blew a chance to earn the 7th seed and advance by losing at home to the Hawks on Tuesday night. The winner advances to the first round of the playoffs, where they will face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Update Injury for Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat
The Heat
The Miami Heat got off to a slow start against Atlanta on Tuesday night and never recovered in a 116-105 loss that sends them to the brink of elimination.
Miami trailed by nine points after one quarter and 15 points at halftime, and it never got a foothold in the game. Kyle Lowry led the Heat with 33 points, Tyler Herro had 26 points, and Jimmy Butler had 21 points.
Jimmy Butler missed Thursday’s practice due to personal reasons, but he is expected to be available for Friday’s Play-In Game against the Bulls, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
After missing the Heat’s final two regular-season games, Butler played 38 minutes in Tuesday’s Play-In game against Atlanta.
The star forward, who has averaged 24.8 points, 6.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 33.3 minutes over his last ten games, should be available again on Friday.
After being the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, the Heat now face the real possibility of missing the first round of the playoffs.
| PLAYER | INJURY | STATUS |
| Nikola Jovic | Back | Expected to be out until at least Apr 16 |
| Jimmy Butler | Personal | Game Time Decision |
| Kyle Lowry | Knee | Game Time Decision |
| Gabe Vincent | Back | Game Time Decision |
The Bulls
The Chicago Bulls’ season appeared to be coming to an end on Wednesday night, when they trailed the Toronto Raptors by 19 points on the road. Zach LaVine scored 30 of his 39 points in the second half as the Bulls defeated the Raptors 105-102 to advance to the final play-in game against the Heat.
LaVine was outstanding on Wednesday, leading a second-half comeback and finishing as Chicago’s leading scorer in this must-win game.
The Bulls face the Heat on Friday for the eighth seed, and LaVine should be one of Chicago’s go-to offensive players once again. This was the fourth time in his last ten games that he scored at least 30 points.
DeMar DeRozan, meanwhile, had 23 points (10-19 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-5 FT), seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 39 minutes.
DeRozan wasn’t as sharp as he had been in previous games, but he contributed across the board and was instrumental in keeping Chicago’s season alive for one more game.
DeRozan is expected to play today against the Heat in a must-win game for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
| PLAYER | INJURY | STATUS |
| Lonzo Ball | Knee | Out for the season |
| Justin Lewis | Knee | Out for the season |
