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The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls will play three consecutive games against each other after their originally scheduled game on January 8 was postponed due to condensation.
When the matchup between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls on January 8 was postponed due to “condensation,” the incident was considered one of the strangest situations to ever occur in the NBA.
Fast forward three weeks, and the Heat and Bulls are on their way to making history once again.
The two teams will meet each other on Thursday, January 29, for the first of three consecutive matchups. Thursday’s matchup is being played at the United Center in Chicago, while the next two games will be played at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
This will be the first time in over 50 years that two teams have played three consecutive regular-season games against each other. The last time it occurred was in 1972, between the Baltimore Bullets and Houston Rockets.
The Heat were originally scheduled to play the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, before playing the Bulls on Friday, January 30 and Sunday, February 1. The NBA moved the Friday game to Saturday, January 31, to avoid the Heat playing on three consecutive nights.
How did the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls get Into This Situation?
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GettyThe game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls was cancelled due to condensation on the court.
The Miami Heat were originally scheduled to play tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls on January 8, but the game was postponed.
The Bulls share the United Center with the Chicago Blackhawks, who were hosting a game against the Washington Capitals the next night.
Humidity from the arena combined with the ice from under the court led to a playing surface that wasn’t suitable for an NBA game. The two teams remained in the arena for over an hour before the game was eventually called off.
Heat players noticed the floor was slippery during warm-ups. As the arena began to fill with fans, the humidity increased, leading to increased condensation on the court.
“I mean, it’s crazy. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with that in 11 seasons, which is kind of crazy,” Heat guard Norman Powell said. “Yeah, it’s kind of tough. I mean, after the first like 30 minutes, I think you start to kind of like, ‘All right, what are we doing?’ Then another, you hear him say another 20 minutes, and then it’s like, ‘All right,’ like, you really don’t want to play and it’s hard to get refocused.”
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra also reacted to the unusual incident directly after the game was postponed.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Spoelstra said. “Our guys had really prepared, and I felt like emotionally, we were geared up and ready to compete. Everybody was really looking forward to it. And it’s just an odd situation to be in like that.”
Miami Heat Injury Updates Ahead of Matchup With Chicago Bulls
The Miami Heat will be without starting guard Davion Mitchell for the fifth consecutive game. Mitchell injured his shoulder on January 13 against the Phoenix Suns.
Heat guard Tyler Herro remains out for the eighth consecutive game with a rib injury. Herro has only played in 11 games this season for the Heat.
Heat center Kel’el Ware, who played just seven minutes against the Orlando Magic after returning from a hamstring injury, is listed as questionable.
An interesting note — the Heat will have all three two-way players, center Vlad Goldin, guard Jahmir Young and forward Myron Gardner against the Chicago Bulls, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.