The Chicago Bulls head to the Air Canada Centre to take on the Toronto Raptors. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 25 and will air on CSN-CHI, TSN and ESPN.
The Raptors were victorious over the Knicks 106-89 on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan was the team’s high scorer with 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off a 98-86 win over the Hornets on Monday. Pau Gasol played well, recording 27 points and 12 rebounds to claim his 47th double-double of the season.
Over the last five games, DeRozan has really been playing well for the Raptors. During that stretch, he has averaged 23.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.0 three-pointer. On the other side, the Bulls have been led by Nikola Mirotic. He has been on fire, averaging 23.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.6 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers in the same time frame.
Toronto should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank third in the NBA at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 12.6%). Meanwhile, the Bulls force the fewest turnovers in the league (11.8%).
The Bulls have won all three matchups against the Raptors this season, including a 108-92 victory in their last matchup. Mirotic played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Raptors enter the game with records of 42-28 Straight Up (SU) and 32-37-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 29-14 SU and 22-21 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are an incredibly accurate shooting team from the line with a .787 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in the NBA. Toronto is very careful and attentive with the ball, averaging the third-fewest turnovers per game at only 12.2.
On the other side, Chicago has a SU record of 43-29 and an ATS record of 33-39. Chicago has a record of 26-16 SU and 20-22 ATS against the East. Chicago is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the league, knocking down 19.9 shots from the line per game. The Bulls are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 45.9 rebounds per game. Shifting to the other side of the court, they average 5.9 blocks per game, good for fifth in the league.
Chicago won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 6-4. At 5-5, they are even bets ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Chicago held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Toronto never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHI, ATS Winner – CHI
Notes
Toronto is 5-11-1 SU in its last 17 games,.
Toronto is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Toronto is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago.
Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto’s last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago.
Toronto is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago.
The Toronto Raptors are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 104.3 points per game (ranked fourth), while the Chicago Bulls are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 98.6 (ranked 11th).
On average, Toronto scores 103.0 points per home game (ranked ninth), while Chicago allows 98.6 points per away game (ranked eighth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Toronto Raptors are a dazzling 24-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Chicago Bulls have a poor record of 12-20.
When the Toronto Raptors allow at least 100 points they are 18-23, while the Chicago Bulls are 31-9 when they register triple digits.
The Raptors have the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (107.7). The Bulls are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 102.0 (ranked 14th).
On average, Toronto has 96.9 possessions per game and scores 1.077 points on each possession. Chicago has both fewer possessions (96.7) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.042).
Toronto is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.6% (ranked ninth in the NBA). Chicago is a losing 6-15 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Chicago Bulls make 21.7 assists per game and the Toronto Raptors make 20.8. Chicago is ranked 16th, while Toronto is ranked 21st.
The Toronto Raptors average 4.4 blocks per game for a rank of 22nd. The Chicago Bulls rank higher (fifth), earning 5.9 blocks each contest.
Toronto ranks in the top half of the NBA in offensive rebounding at 15th, while Chicago ranks near the top of the league (fifth) in defensive rebounding.
The Toronto Raptors make an average of 7.6 steals per game. When the Chicago Bulls allow 7 or more steals, they are a winning 28-17.
