The Toronto Raptors head to the Windy City to test the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday night.
Toronto is 23-22 SU on the season and the Raptors are in third place in the Atlantic Division team standings. They are the current 8th seed in the East who are just 6 games off the leaders Miami Heat. The Raptors are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and head to this game coming off a 125-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night in Toronto.
Chicago is 29-17 on the season and the Bulls are the current Central Division leaders. They are the 2nd seed in the East, just one-half game behind the Miami Heat. The Bulls have struggled in recent weeks and are just 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. The Bulls enter this game coming off a close win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last Sunday.
Toronto played last night and won a 125-113 contest against the Charlotte Hornets. Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 32 points while Pascal Siakam added 24 points, 9 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists to pace the Raptors. OG Anunoby also scored 24 points on top of 7 rebounds while Chris Boucher had 12 points and 7 boards.
The Raptors are 23rd in the league in scoring at only 106.8 points per game this season. They are 15th in rebounding at 45.0 boards grabbed per contest and 28th in passing at 21.8 assists per game. Toronto is 9th in the entire NBA in scoring defense at 106.1 points per game conceded this season.
Chicago survived a furious rally by the OKC Thunder who erased a 28-point third-quarter deficit and have an opportunity to tie the game in the closing seconds. Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 26 points and 15 rebounds while the returning Zach LaVine added 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists as Chicago escaped with a 111-110 win. Ayo Dosunmu also scored 24 points with 8 assists and Coby White had 9 points and 7 assists off the bench.
The Bulls are 12th in the NBA in scoring at 110.3 points per game this season. They are 28th in rebounding at 42.8 boards grabbed per contest and are 16th in passing at 23.9 assists per game this season. Chicago ranks 16th in the league in scoring defense at 108.7 points per game allowed.
Toronto is 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. The Raptors are 2-3 SU in their last five road games and 3-8 SU in their last 11 games as betting underdogs. Chicago is 2-6 SU in their last eight games played. The Bulls are 10-2 SU in their last 12 games played at home but are 1-4 SU in their last five games against an opponent from the Eastern Conference.
Head to head, the Bulls are 4-0 SU in their last four games against the Raptors. Chicago is also 2-1 SU in their last three home games against Toronto.
The Bulls got the much-needed lift from Zach LaVine who returned from left knee soreness to play last Monday’s game against the Thunder. Although he shot poorly from the floor at 6-19, he still finished with 23 points and gave Chicago the scoring boost it missed badly when he was out.
DeMar DeRozan has been the main man for Chicago but the Bulls have been a much better team if DeRozan plays with LaVine. With the duo back, the Chicago offense should be back on track. Meanwhile, the return of Javonte Green gives Chicago a defender to help mitigate the injury suffered by Alex Caruso.
Toronto is coming off a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night but the Raptors have to fly in right away. On the other hand, the Bulls are well-rested having taken Tuesday off after a road game last Monday. Then there is also the fact that DeRozan will be playing against his former team. That should encourage him to have a big night here.
All things considered, the Bulls are in a good position to win this game.
Prediction: Chicago Bulls
The Raptors are 14-5-1 ATS in their last 20 games played overall. Toronto is 6-0 ATS in their last six games when playing on zero days rest, 5-1 ATS in their last six games against an opponent with a winning percentage better than .600, 4-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a home winning percentage greater than .600, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a winning home record, 5-2 ATS in their last seven Wednesday games, and 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls are 4-5-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. Chicago is 14-8 ATS in 22 home games played this season, 18-12 ATS in 30 games against the Eastern Conference, 9-6 ATS in 15 games against the Eastern Conference, 11-6 ATS in 17 games as home favorites, 18-11-1 ATS in 30 games as betting favorites, and 5-1 ATS in their last six games against an opponent from the Atlantic Division.
Head to head, the Bulls are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games against the Raptors.
We saw how fatigue nearly cost the Bulls their last game against the Thunder. Chicago was playing on back to back games and three games in four nights. Good thing for them, LaVine unexpectedly returned from injury to score 20+ points.
Toronto will be in the same spot as the Bulls were the last time out. The Raptors hosted the Hornets on Tuesday night and will be traveling to Chicago for this back-to-back schedule. Toronto is just 2-2-1 ATS in their last five games played while the Bulls are 2-1-1 ATS in their last four assignments.
Again, Chicago’s offense looks more fluid with both LaVine and DeRozan. With both available to play in this game, the Raptors are going to have more than they can handle. Toronto has been playing good defense this season but has allowed at least 113 points in their last two games played.
Give me the Bulls to cover the -4.5 spread here.
Prediction: Bulls -4.5
The total has gone under in seven out of the last nine games played by the Raptors. The under is 5-0 in Toronto’s last five games played on the road, 4-0 in their last four road games against an opponent with a winning home record, 8-6 in 14 road games against the Eastern Conference, and 4-2 in their last six games as away underdogs.
The over is 5-3-2 in the Bulls’ last 10 games played. The total has gone over in four out of their last five Wednesday games, 4-1 in their last five games at home, 9-3-1 in their last 13 games at home when playing on one day rest, 3-1-1 in their last five home games against an opponent from the Atlantic division, and 3-0-1 in their last four games against a team from the Eastern Conference.
These teams have combined to score an average of 211.5 points per game in their last 10 games played, including 219 points in their most recent meeting last October 25, 2021.
Toronto had seven consecutive unders before hitting the over the mark in their loss to Portland the last time out. Chicago meanwhile has been favoring the OVER all season long but has seen the total hit under in two out of their last three games played.
The Raptors rank just 27th in the league in tempo at 95.9 possessions per game while the Bulls aren’t that fast either at 14th at 98.5 possessions per contest. Fatigue could be an issue here as both teams recently played back-to-back schedules.
We’ve seen too many Eastern Conference games go under this season with teams playing low-scoring slugfests. This one should be no different. LaVine will make the Bulls’ offense much better but with Toronto Ranking only 23rd in scoring, look for the Bulls to take their foot off the gas pedal by giving their key players rest a priority over winning blowouts.
Prediction: Under 220
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