The Chicago Bulls (0-0) travel south to take on the Miami Heat (0-0) in their first NBA games of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:40 pm ET. Below we continue our NBA odds series with a Bulls-Heat prediction and pick.

The Bulls and Heat will face off in the first of three matchups between the conference foes. Miami won all four meetings between the teams last season. In Miami, the Heat won by 26 and 13. In Chicago, the Heat won by 3 and 18. The teams cleared 216 points just once in their four meetings. Overall, Chicago was 44-42-1 ATS last season (51.2%) but was much worse on the road (19-24-1, 44.2%). Miami was 56-43-1 ATS last season (56.6%) and surprisingly worse at home (27-24, 52.9%).

Here are the Bulls-Heat NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NBA Odds: Bulls-Heat Odds

Chicago Bulls: +7.5 (-110)

Miami Heat: -7.5 (-110)

Over: 215.5 (-110)

Under: 215.5 (-110)

Why The Bulls Could Cover The Spread

Chicago returns essentially their entire roster from last year's 46-win team. The Bulls snagged the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year before losing to the Bucks. Although they made the playoffs by avoiding the play-in game (which they probably would've lost) Chicago was not a playoff-caliber team in the second half of last year. The Bulls were on fire to start the season. They were tied for first in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Break but fell apart in the second half of the season. A lot of the underlying stats showed Chicago wasn't as good as their record indicated for large stretches of the regular season.

A major reason why Chicago overachieved during the first half of last year is also a major factor in why hopes are high for this year: Demar DeRozan. DeRozan was incredible in clutch time last year – helping the Bulls win 65% of their close games in the first half. While that number was bound to regress to the mean, the hope is that DeRozan can continue his late-career renaissance in his second year in Chicago. The 33-year-old averaged 28 PPG for Chicago and he'll need to do even more tonight with backcourt mate Zach LaVine out with an injury.

Look for DeRozan and 4th-year guard Coby White (12.7 PPG) to pick up the slack in LaVine's absence tonight. Starting center Nikola Vucevic struggled against Heat center Bam Adebayo last year (just 10.8 PPG in 4 matchups), so expect third-year forward Patrick Williams to have a larger role after spending most of last season sidelined with an injury.

Why The Heat Could Cover The Spread

Miami, too, has practically the same roster from last year's 53-win team. The Heat were the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and just narrowly missed out on the NBA Finals. Rather than tear the whole thing down, Miami elected to essentially run it back again this year. While they did lose starting Forward PJ Tucker, the first-round pick of Serbian teenager Nikola Jovic should be a natural replacement for Tucker's minutes. Other than that, this is the same old Heat team.

Miami is known for stellar defense. The Heat were 4th in total points allowed and held opponents to the 5th lowest field goal percentage and 2nd lowest 3-point percentage. This is despite having an undersized point guard in Kyle Lowry and a shaky individual defender in Tyler Herro. What Miami does have, though, is the combination of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Both Jimmy and Bam are elite defenders at their positions. Adebayo finished 4th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Butler received a number of All-Defensive team votes.

Just because Miami is an excellent defensive team doesn't mean they can't score. The Heat were 10th in Offensive Rating last season even if they were middle of the pack (17th) in points per game. 6th Man of the Year winner Tyler Herro (20.7 PPG), Butler (21.4 PPG), and Adebayo (19.1 PPG) carried the load offensively for a team that saw 7 players average at least 10 points per game. Miami has such a balanced and versatile roster that it's oftentimes hard to predict who's going to play on any given night – let alone who's going to score.

The Heat are a well-oiled machine through and through. They've made the playoffs in each of Jimmy Butler's 3 seasons with the team. There's no indication that will change this season. While Chicago took a big step up last year, Miami knows they're in a different tier. Look for them to establish that on opening night.

Final Bulls-Heat Prediction & Pick

Miami owned Chicago last year – winning all four matchups. Only one of their games last year came within 7 points and that was on opening night in Chicago. The Heat dominated the Bulls in Miami last year. Given how little roster turnover occurred for the two teams, I'd expect more of the same tonight.

Final Bulls-Heat Prediction & Pick: Miami Heat -7.5 (-110)