The 9th seeded Toronto Raptors host the No. 10 seed Chicago Bulls in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Sure! Play-In odds:
Raptors -5.5 vs Bulls +185
Pelicans -5.5 vs Thunder +185
Odds for every NBA playoff game:https://t.co/dopUNjfysg
— BetOnline (@BetOnline_ag) April 11, 2023
The winner advances to face the winner of the Heat and Hawks game in a contest that will determine the No. 8 seed. The loser is eliminated.
The Raptors took two of the three meetings from the Bulls. Both victories came at home including a 113-104 decision in November, when Toronto’s defense racked up 11 steals and 10 blocks.
Chicago Bulls (40-42, 10th)
The key to beating the Bulls is slowing down DeMar DeRozan. The former Raptor returns for his first playoff game in Toronto as a member of the visitors:
Underrated fact: DeMar DeRozan currently ranks 38th on the all time scoring list
He is going to finish his career among the 20 greatest scorers ever ..
Talk about a 🪣 pic.twitter.com/EpoWGH2Evp
— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) April 2, 2023
Zach Lavine is another Bulls weapon. He’s the team’s leading scorer by a smidge over DeRozan (24.8-24.5) and is another player who can take over a game.
Highlights Zach LaVine 🆚 Blazers #BullsNation | #NBA pic.twitter.com/1S2sqYm1jI https://t.co/HPnp8vJLUw
— Back2Back (@B2BFR) March 25, 2023
Toronto Raptors (41-41, 9th)
The Raptors leading point producer is Pascal Siakam who averaged 24.2 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game. He’s a player who is is a threat to produce a triple-double like he did against Minnesota:
Pascal Siakam led the @Raptors to their 4th straight win while logging his 2nd career triple-double! #WeTheNorth@pskills43: 12 PTS, 10 REB, 13 AST pic.twitter.com/XJUwdrhd7G
— NBA (@NBA) March 31, 2022
In all, the Raptors have five players averaging 14 points per game or better including Fred VanVleet (19.3) and Gary Trent (17.4)
Trends favor a low-scoring game
Both the Raptors and the Bulls are near the bottom in scoring. Chicago is 24th, averaging 113.1 an outing while Toronto is 26th at 112.9 ppg. this season. The Raptors are ranked last in points per play, when forced into a half-court game.
Toronto was 27-14 at home this season including two wins over Chicago. The Raptors don’t make a lot of mistakes. They’re averaging just 11.7 turnovers per game (No. 1 in the NBA) and they force 16.7 on defense (No. 2 in NBA).
It tells me this is likely to be a low-scoring game, so consider the under (214.5) as a play.
Other NBA Betting notes
While the Bucks, and Nuggets await their First Round opponent, we know that the defending NBA champion and No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors are the betting favorites (-290) against the No. 3 seed, the Sacramento Kings.
If you need a refresher on just how good the Warriors can be, consider their historic first quarter performance against Portland on Sunday:
TWELVE first quarter threes for the Warriors 🤯
They've scored 55 points, the most EVER in a 1Q in NBA history.
📺: Live on the NBA App pic.twitter.com/xxePb1N4aY
— NBA (@NBA) April 9, 2023
The Suns are also heavy favorites (-600) over the LA Clippers.
In the East, the 76ers are massive -900 favorites to knock off the Brooklyn Nets (+600). Meanwhile, the closest odds are the 4-5 matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers (-200) and New York Knicks (+160).
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