Back-to-back-to-back.
The ninth-seed Chicago Bulls square off with the 10th-ranked Miami Heat for the third straight year in the NBA play-in tournament on Thursday, April 17, in a win-or-go-home scenario.
The survivor of that showdown will travel to Atlanta to battle the Hawks with the final East playoff slot on the line, on top of a first-round meeting with the conference top seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
🏆 PLAYOFF PICTURE 🏆
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2025
?? #7 GSW will play #2 HOU
?? #7 ORL will play #2 BOS
?? SAC, CHI host DAL & MIA tomorrow for more #SoFiPlayIn action #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google begin April 19th!
Chicago is hoping that third time’s the charm against Miami, which ended the Bulls’ season in each of the last two years' playoff qualifying rounds.
Those losses came as the Bulls played on the road. But that’s not the case this time around. Thanks to a 15-5 record in their final regular season stretch, the Bulls finished 39-43 and secured home-court in a crucial encounter.
Despite trading Zach LaVine midway through the season, Chicago managed to stay competitive throughout the final three months of regular season, thanks to the stellar outings of Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic.
[ALSO READ: Fox to Spurs, Lavine to Kings in latest big NBA trade - reports]
Giddey recorded seven triple-doubles alone in his first season with the Bulls, as White tallied seven 30-point games during the months of March and April.
Vucevic played 73 games overall, submitting 18.5 markers and 10.1 boards. It was the seventh consecutive year that the 34-year-old big man averaged 17 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
On the other hand, Miami needs to get past the play-in stage anew for a chance of advancing into the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
But this time, two-time champion coach Erik Spoelstra and his wards must do it without Jimmy Butler.
The partnership between Butler and the Heat ended when the franchise traded away the man--who led them to two Finals trips in 2020 and 2023--to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Andrew Wiggins last February.
[ALSO READ: Jimmy Butler teams up with Stephen Curry in Golden State after blockbuster trade--reports]
Still, the Heat overcame a 10-game losing skid and won eight for their last 12 games to sneak into the play-in tournament as the 10th seed.
First-time All-Star Tyler Herro and two-way star big man Bam Adebayo are expected to banner Miami once more in hopes of putting together another improbable playoff run.
Chicago won the regular season series over Miami, 3-0, but all of their contests were decided by nine points or less.
