Chicago (40-42) at Toronto (41-41)
When: Wednesday, April 12th 2023
Where: Scotiabank Arena,
Toronto, Ontario
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Toronto -4.5/217.5
The NBA Play-In round continues on Wednesday night in the Eastern Conference when the Chicago Bulls visit the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Ontario. The Raptors opened as 4.5-point home favorites on the NBA odds board with a total of 217.5. The spread has inched up to 5, while the total has gone down to 214.5 as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday night, No. 7 seed Miami hosts No. 8 Atlanta in the first Eastern Conference play-in game. The winner becomes the official No. 7 seed will visit No. 2 Boston in the first round. The winner of Wednesday’s Bulls/Raptors matchup will travel to the loser of Heat-Hawks for Friday’s winner-take-all game for the East’s No. 8 seed and a date with No. 1 Milwaukee.
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The Raptors took two-of-three during the regular season, winning both at home. Toronto held Chicago to just 104.3 points per game. Chicago’s Zach LaVine played in two of the games and averaged 23.5 points, Nikola Vucevic 18.7 ppg and 10.0 boards, while former Raptor DeMar DeRozan averaged 14.0.
Fred VanVleet averaged 20.0 ppg and 8.0 assists in the season series, while Pascal Siakam had 20 points and eight rebounds in the lone game he played. The Bulls are 7-3 against the spread in the past 10 meetings and the Under has cashed in four straight.
This could be the last chance for the Bulls for a few years, as Vucevic is a free agent and All-Star DeRozan has just one year left on his deal and could be traded in the offseason. Lonzo Ball didn’t play at all this season and likely won’t next year due to a chronic knee issue. The Bulls won their final two games of the regular season against non-playoff teams Dallas and Detroit. The Bulls are 18-20-2 ATS away from home this season, but 6-2-1 in their last nine.
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Toronto ended the season with a 121-105 win Sunday over Milwaukee, which rested every starter. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam (rest) all sat for the Raptors as well. Toronto had five players finish the season averaging at least 15 points (Siakam – 24.2, VanVleet – 19.3, Trent Jr. – 17.4, Anunoby – 16.8, Barnes – 15.3). They also set a franchise record with 772 total steals and averaged a league-best 9.4 steals per game. The Raptors are 15-5-1 ATS in their past 21 at home.
The Bulls have been playing some good ball away from home and have had success north of the border. Chicago is 12-5 ATS in their last 17 trips to Toronto and have the offensive firepower to keep this one close.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Bulls +5
