Bulls vs. Heat Monday NBA injury report, spread, odds: Kyle Lowry out as Miami can clinch season series, potential tiebreaker; DeMar DeRozan can tie Michael Jordan

The game of the night in the NBA on Monday features Chicago at Miami as they battle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat hold a one-game lead over the Bulls atop the East and could clinch the season series with a victory tonight but will be without starting point guard Kyle Lowry. Miami is still a 4-point favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. Click here for model picks. 

Monday is the third of four regular-season meetings between the teams, but because Miami won the first two it would clinch the series tonight with a victory and thus potentially hold a major head-to-head tiebreaker for home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs if the teams finish with the same record.

The Heat (40-21) are given an Over/Under East seed of 1.5 with the Under a -225 favorite, so clearly oddsmakers think Miami will finish with the East's best record. Chicago (39-22) is at Over/Under 3.5, with the Over a -120 favorite. The Bulls are 1.5 games ahead of third-place Philadelphia.

While the Bulls have been a pleasant surprise with the addition of MVP candidate DeMar DeRozan, they are only 2-13 against the other top eight teams in terms of winning percentage in the NBA this season and 0-12 against the top five after losing by six at home to Memphis on Saturday to see a six-game winning streak end.

As for Lowry, he's out for personal reasons. He missed nine games earlier this year also for personal reasons. Lowry and DeRozan are good friends from their Toronto days, so it must be serious for Lowry to sit this one out. He averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 assists in the two wins over the Bulls. Gabe Vincent likely will start in his spot. Another guard, Caleb Martin, is questionable with an Achilles injury. He missed five games with the problem earlier this month.

Chicago is listing former All-Star center Nikola Vucevic as probable as he's dealing with a sprained ankle but played through it Saturday. It may have affected him as Vucevic was just 5-for-17 from the field. DeRozan, meanwhile, has had 10 straight games of at least 30 points. That's one shy of the Bulls record of 11 in a row by Michael Jordan in the 1986-87 season. DeRozan is set at Over/Under 29.5 points at Caesars. 

Looking for the best picks against the spread, sharp plays on the total and props you can take straight to the pay window? Join Jonathan Coachman on The Early Edge as he speaks with SportsLine's top handicappers to preview the day's biggest games. We promise to keep it short and sweet and to put some green in your pocket. The Early Edge is in your feed every single day by 11 a.m. ET. Subscribe right here on YouTube to watch daily, plus don't miss The Early Edge specials and live shows!