Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors Predictions and Odds Feb 3
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Portland Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors betting preview for Thursday, February 3. At the time of posting, the Raptors have opened as a 3-point home favorite over the road Bulls, with the total sitting at 224.5 points.
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| Thursday, February 3 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Chicago Bulls +3 at Toronto Raptors |
| Total: | 224.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:40pm ET / 4:40pm PT |
| Arena: | Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON |
| TV: | NBC Sports Chicago |
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors Analysis
The surging Toronto Raptors welcome in the #1 Chicago Bulls on Thursday night to the Scotiabank Arena with the Raptors opening up as -3 home favorites for the game but down 0-2 in the series against the Bulls so far this season.
Raptors Surging at Home
The Raptors enter Thursday night’s game winning four of their last five games outright, the one blemish on that record being a 111-105 loss to Chicago back on January 26th.
However, the Raptors have been much better at home this season, and hit 46.2% from beyond the arc in Tuesday’s win over Miami as well, an 11.2% boost over their season average.
Chicago Maintain #1
Chicago also have four wins over their last five games, but did have problems defensively against both the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic in recent games.
The Blazers hung 116 points on the Bulls in Tuesday’s loss and hit over 50% from the field in that game while the Magic hit almost 50% themselves in the game prior, averaging their 2nd highest points total on the road since January 15th.
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors Prediction
Chicago’s defense simply hasn’t been up to par of late, registering as the league’s worst on overall defensive efficiency over their last three starts.
However, explosive outbursts from DeRozan, Vucevic and LaVine among others on the offensive end has kept them ticking over in games, and we like the Bulls to do the same here again on Thursday night.
While their defense has struggled in games, Chicago’s offense has been on fire this year, averaging both the league’s highest shooting percentage at home this season along with the #1 three point shooting percentage as well.
Toronto shot absolutely lights out in Tuesday’s win over Miami, hitting almost 10% more from downtown than even the Bulls managed against Orlando in a 126 point effort, so we believe it’ll be the Raptors, and not the Bulls who tail off here and regress tonight up in Ontario. Take the Chicago Bulls plus the points on Thursday.
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Thursday’s #NBA Betting Notes:
🏀The over is 11-2 in Minnesota’s last 13 games.
🏀Phoenix is 12-6 against the spread as a road favorite this year.
🏀The Clippers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games vs the Lakers.
🏀The Bulls are 12-2 ATS in their last 14 meetings with Toronto. pic.twitter.com/eip7CIFXUw— GoldSheet (@thegoldsheet) February 3, 2022
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors Preview from GoldSheet
Chicago has covered 12 of the last 14 meetings with Toronto (8-6 straight up), including this season’s first collision, when the Bulls went to Scotiabank Arena and recorded a 111-108.
Chicago F DeMar DeRozan, who played for the Raptors in his first nine years in the league, has scored 31 ppg and shot 61% in his last seven games and led the Bulls with 26 pts. against his old team in the earlier encounter. Series has gone “over” nine of last 11 dating to February of 2014.
Raptors have been on fire at Scotiabank Arena since December, covering 13 of their last 16 as a host. Meanwhile, the Bulls have been a mirror image, compiling a 3-8-1 record against the number as a visitor since the first week of December.
Nick Nurse’s Toronto is receiving excellent play from the usual suspects (Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby), but also enjoying G Gary Trent Jr.’s development (career high 18.2 ppg; shooting 40% from beyond the arc) as well as the contributions of rookie G Scottie Barnes (15 ppg, 8 rpg, 3.4 apg).
The Raptors have come on since fighting through injuries and Covid problems, emerging as a better team.
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
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NBA Odds Screen
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