by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Nov 06, 2022
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Where to watch: SN, NBC Sports Chicago
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: NL
FanDuel: Raptors -1.5
BetMGM: NL
Caesars: NL
Season record
Bulls: 5-5
Raptors: 5-4
What a thrilling start to the NBA season, and it's time to get your picks in for what should be an enticing season. A lot of new faces in new places already making an impact, and our champion handicappers are already starting to take notice. Look at our own Jack Banks off to a 3-0-0 start in the NBA this week. Nelly's Sports is also at 4-0-0 while Jim Feist has also cashed on his first two of the year. As the season progresses, you know we're going to be in a position to deliver you the best analysis and picks that one can have in this market. Make sure you check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to find all of our handicappers' selections, comprehensive previews, and more!
Bulls - Raptors preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
Bulls: lost 123-119 at Celtics on Friday
Raptors: lost 111-110 at Mavericks on Friday
The DeMar DeRozan Bowl is hitting Toronto on Sunday with the Chicago Bulls taking on the Toronto Raptors in a battle of what’s been somewhat struggling teams in the Eastern Conference to begin the season.
The DeMar DeRozan Bowl is hitting Toronto on Sunday with the Chicago Bulls taking on the Toronto Raptors in a battle of what’s been somewhat struggling teams in the Eastern Conference to begin the season.
These two are generally powerhouses in the East, but have ran into some rough injury luck through 10 games (by the way, 10 games already for the Bulls, we’re about 15 percent done with the season already, this is some weird stuff. By the way, Christmas is in a month and some change? What is going on?).
The Bulls are coming off a 123-119 loss in Boston on Friday in what was one hell of an epic duel. DeRozan scored 46 points to offset a 36-point, 12-rebound effort from Jayson Tatum, but Chicago didn’t have enough depth on the bench like Boston did. Zach LaVine had just 16 points, Nikola Vucevic’s double-double was also for nothing, and Alex Caruso just had 5 points in 23 minutes.
“I just felt like there was too many things we had control over that we needed to execute better and we didn't,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “That hurt us tonight.”
Considering the Bulls trailed by 14 in the fourth quarter and came back to lose by 4 seems pretty incredible. But we’re starting to see, once again, that the Bulls are a much different team without Lonzo Ball. Whether the point guard will ever come back to his normal state remains to be seen, but the only way for the Bulls to actually keep this train rolling is find a way to get some depth from the lineup.
The Raptors, meanwhile, have prided themselves on depth for the longest time and showed it last night in the 111-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. No Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam left midway through, and yet they still fought back to nearly win. There was just no way they were going to stop Luka Doncic from scoring 30 points for the eighth straight time to begin the season.
O.G. Anunoby scored 27 points, and Scottie Barnes had a triple-double despite shooting 4 of 12 from the field. Chris Boucher (17 points) and Precious Achiuwa (15 points) to help pace Toronto. Alas, they just ran out of gas against one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
VanVleet will not play in this one, while Khem Birch and Siakam are listed at day-to-day.
Prediction
For as deep as Toronto is, injuries are going to play a tough factor here. Losing VanVleet already takes away their top playmaker and one of their leading scorers. Siakam out is a complete other deal. Chicago, meanwhile, should always benefit from DeRozan playing the Raptors. Whether or not there’s still a revenge factor in play, DeRozan should have a big game and Chicago should have more than enough to finish the job here. Bulls by 10
Betting trends
Bulls are 19-18 ATS against Atlantic Division opponents the last three years.
Bulls are 24-21 ATS off a road loss the last three years.
Bulls are 7-12 ATS in last 19 after covering in 3 or more straight games.
Raptors are 26-18 ATS off a road loss the last three years.
Raptors are 45-36 ATS after a road game the last three years.
Projected starting lineup
Bulls:
PG: Ayo Dosunmu
SG: Zach LaVine
SF: DeMar DeRozan
PF: Patrick Williams
C: Nikola Vucevic
Raptors:
PG: Malachi Flynn
SG: Gary Trent Jr.
SF: O.G. Anunoby
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Pascal Siakam
Key injuries
Bulls: Lonzo Ball (knee, out), Andre Drummon (shoulder, out), Coby White (quad, out)
Raptors: Fred VanVleet (back, out), Khem Birch (knee, questionable), Pascal Siakam (groin, out)
Statistical leaders
Bulls:
Points: DeMar DeRozan -- 25.6
Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic -- 12.3
Assists: DeMar DeRozan -- 4.3
Raptors:
Points: Pascal Siakam -- 24.8
Rebounds: Pascal Siakam -- 9.3
Assists: Pascal Siakam -- 7.7
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Chicago Bulls - Toronto Raptors prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
