NBA Playoff Picks: Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat, Game 1

The winning team covered the spread in all four regular-season meetings between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, which is important to consider when making your NBA picks Monday, as the two teams open up a best-of-seven playoff series at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Sports bettors will find that the Heat are 11.5-point home favorites in the pro basketball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 186 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series from a betting perspective while offering up prediction on the total along the way.

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls eliminated the Brooklyn Nets from the 2013 NBA playoffs, picking up a 99-93 victory as seven-point road underdogs in Game 7 last Saturday.

Sports bettors will find that the Bulls are 6-3 straight up and against the spread when playing on the road with the betting total between 185 and 189.5, with the UNDER cashing in six of those nine opportunities.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat haven't played since finishing off a sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round on April 28, which served as the squad's eighth consecutive postseason win dating back to the 2012 NBA Finals.

Over the last two-plus seasons, the Heat are 14-20-2 against the spread as home favorites of 9.5 to 12 points, with the UNDER going 19-17 in that situation.

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers play the total as one of their NBA playoff picks Monday, as the OVER is 9-2 in the Miami Heat's last 11 games as home favorites of 9.5 to 12 points.

NBA Pick: Over 186

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