Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan has words for Heat coach before Play-In Tournament

Following the Bulls’ win over the Wizards, head coach Billy Donovan praised the Heat organization and head coach Erik Spoelstra for how they compete.

“Obviously, an enormous amount of respect (for the Heat), just the way they compete, the way they play,” said Billy Donovan, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Got a lot of respect for (Spoelstra)]. Like most teams throughout the course of an NBA season, there’s always things you go through as a team, and certainly they went through their fair share this year.

“We’ve gone through ours. It’s one of those games for both teams where it’s one-and-done. It’s a great opportunity. The guys earned the right to be able to play in the game, and that’s a great thing. I’m excited about it.”

The Chicago Bulls swept the Miami Heat in the regular season

The Heat defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 153-104 on Friday night to improve their record to 37-44. The Bulls swept Miami 3-0 in the regular season series, including a 119-111 win at the United Center on Wednesday.

Like the Bulls, the Heat were sellers at the trade deadline. They traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors in an exchange that netted them Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, a protected first-round pick, and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors.