As the NBA Play-In Tournament continues Wednesday, the No. 10 Chicago Bulls (40-42) will take on the No. 9 Toronto Raptors (41-41). The Raptors will host this one at Scotiabank Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
The winner of this matchup will still need to win one more game in order to officially make the playoffs. The winner will take on the loser of the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks for the right to be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs and take on the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Raptors are the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -210 to win, while the Bulls’ moneyline sits at +176. The Bulls are 5-point underdogs (-110), and the over/under for total runs is 214.5 (-110).
Bulls Hoping For Some Postseason Success
Over the last two seasons, there have been pretty high expectations for the Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately, with injuries to Lonzo Ball and underperformance as a team, the Bulls have not lived up to those expectations. Still, Chicago is hoping for some semblance of postseason success, starting with an underdog win over the Raptors Wednesday.
Chicago was just 18-23 on the road this season, but they have won six of their last ten games, including back-to-back wins entering this game. Chicago went just 1-2 versus the Raptors this season.
Offensively, Chicago ranks 22nd in the NBA, averaging 113.1 points per game (103.3 over their last three games). Leading the way for the Bulls is guard Zach LaVine. In 77 games, he is averaging 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
DeMar DeRozan (24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists) and Nikola Vucevic (17.6 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists) have also had strong seasons.
Defensively, the Bulls rank seventh overall, allowing opponents an average of 111.8 points per game (99.3 over their last three contests).
Raptors Look For Home Court Advantage
While Toronto finished at just 41-41 this season, they will relish in the opportunity to play this one at the Scotiabank Arena. This season, when playing at home, they are 27-14 (versus 14-27 when they are on the road). Additionally, they have won six of their last ten entering play Wednesday.
Toronto was one of the best teams in the NBA on the defensive end this season. They rank fourth overall in scoring defense, allowing just 111.4 points per game to opponents (109.7 when playing at home).
On the offensive side, they rank 24th in scoring, averaging 112.9 points per game (114.4 at home). The team is led by forward Pascal Siakam, who is averaging 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.
Other contributors for Toronto include Fred VanVleet (19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists), Gary Trent Jr (17.4 points), O.G. Anunoby (16.8 points, 5 rebounds), and Scottie Barnes (15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists).
Take Chicago And The Points
Looking at the trends, the Bulls are 7-3 both straight up and against the spread in their last 10 games against the Raptors. They are also 8-2 in their last 10 road games.
For the Raptors, they are 11-1 in their last 12 home games, and they are 9-2 in their last 11 games against Chicago when they play at Scotiabank Arena.
The Bulls were seemingly rejuvenated by the late addition of Pat Beverly. While there still isn’t a lot of confidence in them winning this one, there is a lot of value in taking them +5 (-110) on the spread.
