The Toronto Raptors (20-31) host the Chicago Bulls (21-28) Thursday at their 2020-21 season home of Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m. ET as the Bulls try to keep a leg up on the Raps for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. Below, we analyze the Bulls-Raptors odds and lines, with NBA picks and predictions.
The Bulls and Raptors are 10th and 11th, respectively, in the East. They met March 14 in Chicago with the Bulls winning 118-95 as 3.5-point home favorites.
Chicago enters this game off of back-to-back wins over the Brooklyn Nets (115-107) and Indiana Pacers (113-97). Those victories followed a six-game losing skid.
Toronto is coming off a 110-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday. It has previously won back-to-back games over the Golden State Warriors (130-77) and Washington Wizards (103-101).
Bulls at Raptors: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:35 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Bulls -175 (bet $175 to win $100) | Raptors +145 (bet $100 to win $145)
- Against the spread/ATS: Bulls -4 (-110) | Raptors +4 (-110)
- Over/Under: 221.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Bulls at Raptors: Key injuries
Bulls
- SG Zach LaVine (ankle) probable
- PF Lauri Markkanen (leg) probable
- SF Garrett Temple (hamstring) out
- PG Coby White (neck) probable
Raptors
- SG Rodney Hood (hip) out
- PG Kyle Lowry (foot) out
- PF Pascal Siakam (undisclosed) available
- SG Fred VanVleet (hip) out
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Bulls at Raptors: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Bulls 112, Raptors 105
Money line (ML)
The BULLS (-175) are an auto-click against a Raptors team desperately struggling and remaining without its starting backcourt duo of Lowry and VanVleet. Chicago is expected to be near full health.
C Nikola Vucevic is averaging 22.7 points per game with 10.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists over six games with Chicago since being acquired at the trade deadline. He poses a big mismatch against the Raps’ front court, especially if Siakam is any less than fully healthy.
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Against the spread (ATS)
Get better value with the BULLS -4 (-110) by backing the visitors to win by at least 5 points.
They covered by 19.5 points as 3.5-point favorites against the Raps earlier this season, and they’re 4-0 ATS in their last four games as road favorites. Toronto covered the spread in just one of its last seven games.
The Bulls are strong on the glass, especially on the offensive end, and they’re sixth in 3-point defense for the season. The Raptors get by on chucking 3-pointers at the third-highest rate in the league, but they’re already hitting at a league-low 23.8% clip over their last five games.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the UNDER 221.5 (-110) with Chicago’s defense matching up well against what Toronto tries to do on offense.
The Bulls have played to the Under in three straight games, and the Raptors had hit three straight Unders before sneaking over a low 208-point projection with the Lakers Tuesday.
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