Heat knock Bulls out of the playoffs for third straight season

The No. 10-seeded Heat defeated the No. 9-seeded Bulls, 109-90, behind Tyler Herro's 38 points. Miami advanced to a play-in against the Atlanta Hawks Friday and sent the Bulls home, just like it did in 2023 and 2024.

This game was never close. Herro hit a three-pointer with 5:50 left in the first quarter to give the Heat a 22-12 lead, and they never led by less than double digits the rest of the way. After a first quarter where Herro shot 6-for-6 and scored 16 points, rookie Matas Buzelis' buzzer-beating three only cut Miami's lead to 39-28.

Last year's Heat-Bulls play-in wasn't close either. The Heat took a 17-point lead after one quarter, and went on to win, 112-91, almost exactly the same as this year's final score. Herro finished with 24 points and one assist shy of a triple-double in that game, which Miami won without Jimmy Butler, just like last season.

In 2023, the Heat took another big first-quarter lead, but the Bulls came back and led in the fourth quarter. Still, Miami closed with a 15-1 run to complete a 102-91 win. The Heat would eventually make the NBA Finals from the play-in.

The common thread in these games is that the Bulls simply can't score against the Heat's defense. Maybe that's testament to Heat center Bam Adebayo's defense, but it might be a sign that despite having high-priced offensive weapons, the Bulls simply don't have good offenses.

In the last three seasons, Chicago has ranked 24th, 19th and 20th in offensive rating, all while having high-priced All-Stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic on the team. The Bulls have been stymied by a Heat defense relying on multiple undrafted players, or discarded players like guard Davion Mitchell, a throw-in in this year's Jimmy Butler trade who had 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting Wednesday night.

The Bulls probably need to get off the treadmill of mediocrity that's landed them in the play-in for three straight years. Especially when that means they lose to the Heat every April.