Raptors vs Bulls Odds, Picks, and Predictions Tonight: Padding the Stats

The Toronto Raptors are probably screaming for revenge as they take on the Chicago Bulls for the first time since last season’s play-in matchup the Bulls won with a little assist from DeMar DeRozan’s daughter.

That loss for the Raptors resulted in some wholesale changes including bringing in Darko Rajakovic to be the team’s new head coach. And the Rajakovic era got off to a solid start as Toronto opened its season with a win.

Chicago, on the other hand, lost its opener to the Oklahoma City Thunder and it wasn’t pretty. It also included a heated exchange beaten Nikola Vucevic and head coach Billy Donovan.

So, can the Raptors new scheme frustrate the Bulls, or will Chicago bounce back? I break down the NBA odds and bring you the best bet in my NBA picks and predictions for Raptors vs. Bulls.

Raptors vs Bulls odds

Raptors vs Bulls predictions

Darko Rajakovic wanted to change two major things when he came to the Toronto Raptors. Improve the team’s ball movement to get better looks from 3-point range, and improve the defense. 

We saw both of those things on display in Toronto’s season-opening win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Raps had 27 assists on 36 makes and shot 40% from 3-point range and held the T-wolves to just 94 points on 34% shooting.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls got beat up by the Oklahoma City Thunder in their home opener 124-104 and it was ugly. OKC shot 55% from the floor and outrebounded Chicago in Wednesday’s matchup. And the Thunder are not an overly big team. 

The Bulls had a lot of issues in that game, and I think a player who could be an issue for this one is Jakob Poeltl. The Raptors’ center had a solid first outing of the season, putting up seven points and 11 rebounds and that was in a tough matchup against Rudy Gobert.

Bulls’ center Nikola Vucevic is nowhere near the defender Gobert is, so containing Poeltl in the paint and on the glass could prove difficult. In 26 games with the Raptors last season, Poeltl put up 13.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He also recorded eight double-doubles over that span.

Last season, the Bulls ranked 23rd in rebounding rate and allowed opposing centers to put up 20.6 points per game to opposing centers. 

The Bulls looked sloppy in their opener. It’s unlikely they are that sloppy two games in a row, but Poeltl’s size, skill, and hustle should still be a problem. Plus, the matchup with Vucevic means that Poeltl should put in a little extra work tonight, giving him a few more minutes to get those stats up.

So, I’m betting that the Raptors’ big man has his way on the inside tonight and records his first double-double of the season, which you can get at nice plus money.

My best bet: Jakob Poeltl double-double (+210 at PointsBet)

Raptors vs Bulls same-game parlay

Poeltl Over 19.5 points + rebounds

Barnes Over 0.5 blocked shots

Anunoby Over 2.5 three pointers made

+600 at PointsBet

Usually, our same-game parlay begins with our best bet, but some books don’t allow a double-double prop to be included. So instead, we'll add Poeltl to go Over 19.5 points + rebounds.

Next, let’s look at Scottie Barnes. The third-year man out of Florida State had a solid first game in the Rajakovic era, putting up 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and maybe most impressively five blocks. Barnes looked like the guy from his rookie season on the defensive end of the floor. Staying in front of opponents and using his athleticism and length to block shots. It was impressive. Let’s add him to grab another block tonight.

Let’s close this out by looking at the other thing that was a good sign for the Raptors. The three-point shooting. They went 14-35 (40%) as a team vs. the T-wolves. O.G. Anunoby took the most attempts going 4-9 from beyond the arc. And will now spot up vs. a Bulls team that allowed OKC to 19-39 from three. Make OG Over 2.5 threes in the final leg of this SGP and if all three legs hit we walk away with a +600 bet.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

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Raptors vs Bulls and Over/Under analysis

The Raptors opened this Eastern Conference matchup as slight 2-point road underdogs, but it’s the Bulls who have seen the early action moving the line to -2.5 as of Friday afternoon.

So, bettors are basically saying, the Bulls can’t be THAT bad at home two games in a row. Plus, the home team has covered six straight regular-season meetings between these two teams.

That said, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine went a combined 13-36 from the field. So, that needs to be better moving forward. But it will be interesting to see how they handle this new Raptors defense that just held Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns to 16-52 combined shooting.

While the Bulls have the better top-end scorers, they can’t match the Raptors’ defense and depth. I know it was only one game, but the Bulls having a players-only meeting after one game is not a good sign. I have a slight lean to the Raps as underdogs here.

When it comes to the total, that hit the board at 217 and has been bet up slightly to 218. The four meetings between these two teams last season (including the play-in) saw an average of 210.3 combined points per game.

I would lean toward the Under here but the Bulls' shaky defense gives me pause. 

Raptors vs Bulls betting trend to know

The Raptors have hit the first half moneyline in 26 of their last 40 games. Find more NBA betting trends for Raptors vs. Bulls.

Raptors vs Bulls game info

Raptors vs Bulls latest injuries

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