Editor's note: This preview was published prior to Wednesday afternoon's announcement that Raptors-Bulls has been postponed.
The NBA's Health and Safety Tour continues Wednesday night as the pandemic-ravaged Toronto Raptors hop the border to take on the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago has a fair number of absences itself, but the top tier of their roster has taken nowhere near the damage that Toronto's has. And the spread reflects as much.
Find out which team has the edge against this line as we break down our Raptors vs Bulls NBA picks and predictions for December 22.
Raptors vs Bulls odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Amid huge COVID losses for the Raptors, this spread opened at Chicago -8.5, and has been steadily bet up to 10 and still growing as of publishing.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Raptors vs Bulls predictions
Predictions made on 12/22/2021 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Raptors vs Bulls game info
• Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Date: Wednesday, December 22, 2021
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, NBCSCH
Raptors vs Bulls betting preview
Injuries
Raptors: Pascal Siakam PF (Out), Goran Dragic PG (Out), Dalano Banton PG (Out), Gary Trent Jr SG (Out), Fred VanVleet PG (Out), Malachi Flynn PG (Out), Precious Achiuwa C (Out), Scottie Barnes SF (Out), Justin Champagnie SF (Out), David Johnson PG (Out), Khem Birch C (Out).
Bulls: Zach LaVine SG (Out), Alex Caruso SG (Out), Matt Thomas SG (Out), Ayo Dosunmu SG (Out), Troy Brown Jr. SF (Out), Devon Dotson PG (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Bulls are 17-6 in their last 23 games as a favorite. Find more NBA betting trends for Raptors vs. Bulls.
Raptors vs Bulls picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
There's only so much you can lean into stats and current form when a team's entire rotation has been taken out by COVID-19. The Raptors will be suiting up just one regular starter tonight (OG Anunoby) and much of their bench is likewise in suits.
It's tough to even figure how the Raptors are going to field a playable roster tonight — G-League? Local rec center? Grab whoever's over six feet tall at the airport?
This Frankensteined corpse of a roster will have to take on the Bulls, who, despite their own COVID woes, are still a far more complete roster. Chi-Town can still dress four starters, and DeMar DeRozan himself is probably enough to win this game outright.
Covering a 10-point spread is a somewhat different story, but the Bulls have a massive talent edge over whatever this Raptors team looks like, as well as a huge continuity benefit against a team that will have to trot out entirely new lineups, many featuring dudes who have probably never played together.
The Bulls will get to benefit from homecourt as well, and there's something even further to be said for the mental edge of having their COVID scare behind them, instead of being in the midst of an outbreak's stress and uncertainty.
The Raptors are about as weak as an NBA team could possibly be right now, and while this spread leaves lots of room for error, the Bulls are a fairly consistent squad that won't let themselves leave the door open for what's essentially a G-League team.
Prediction: Chicago -10 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
This is a weird game to try and pick a total for, given that Toronto's roster is reminiscent of the dinosaurs post-asteroid.
For what it's worth, when these two met earlier this season (Oct. 25), the game hit 219 against the exact same 213.5 total as tonight.
If we absolutely had to side with a pick, we'd take the Under here. The Raptors just do not have the firepower to push Chicago offensively at all. And with the Bulls playing at a neutral pace, and the Raptors the league's fourth-slowest team, this is more likely to be a crawl than a sprint, especially with the lack of bodies and need for conserving players' energy.
But overall, this total just seems too volatile, and at the whim of whether the Raptors' replacements can catch lightning in a bottle. We'd find a different play here, but the Under seems like the safer outcome.
Prediction: Under 213.5 (-110)
Best bet
Best bet coming soon when markets are live — stay tuned!
Pick: Pick (Odds)
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