Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 22st, 2021 

Venue:  United Center, Chicago, Illinois

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  NL

Raptors: 14-15, 10th place Eastern Conference

Bulls: 19-10, 2nd place Eastern Conference

The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors on Saturday 119-100.  The Warriors were beat up and missing several key players from their rotation, but a win is a win… and the Raptors desperately need wins.  The Raptors are winners of 5 of their last 7 games and the result of all that winning is 1 game under .500 and 10th place in the East.  They have struggled all year after having made the transition off of Kyle Lowry in the offseason.  Almost no one is left from the Raptors' contending days and Finals win in 2018.  Yet it is not all gloom and doom in the frozen North.. Masai Ujiri has once again found the best player in the bunch when he drafted Scottie Barnes with the 4th overall pick in the 2021 draft.  Several players from that draft will be good (Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, a few others)... but Scottie seems to have helped the Raptors win the draft.  It’s a tall order to ask a super rookie to make much of a difference in the win column… but in years to come he is the best player they have to build around.

The Chicago Bulls are back in action!  The surprise #2 team in the Eastern Conference and best “new” roster in basketball was forced to shut it down last week as Covid ravaged the team.  They canceled/postponed two games between Dec 11th and Dec 19th.  Now players are returning to the lineup while some others are still out… but the show must go on.  This Chicago team has been winning matchups this year through hustle, excellent shooting, and gritty defense.  It goes to show that if you add quality players at every position in one big two year overhaul… your cellar-dwelling squad can go from zero to hero in a flash.  They have added SG DeMar DeRozan (who will be facing the Toronto team he spent a decade of his career with), PG Lonzo Ball, Combo Guard Alex Caruso, C Nikola Vucevic, and rookie PF Patrick Williams to All-star Zach Lavine… it sure takes a lot of pressure off of young PG/SG Coby White.  All have been playing fantastic (PF Patrick Williams is out with injury until April) and playing together. They are currently on a three-game win streak against the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Charlotte Hornets… and have won 6 of their last ten games.

You know that he's H-O-T in the NFL (6-1 in Wk 15!) but did you know that Ben Burns is also on a PERFECT 7-0 run in the NBA? Even better, he's 22-6 his L28 top rated (10*) NBA sides. Better still, all top rated hoops, pro and college, are on a long term run which has produced MORE THAN $110K in profit. This will be EIGHT STRAIGHT NBA WINNERS. You in? Get Ben Burns’ picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Raptors are 14-15 on the season and 14-15 ATS.  They have logged 16 Overs and 13 Unders.  They are 7-6 in road games, actually a better team on the road then at home.

The Bulls are 19-10, but 18-11 ATS.  They have notched 14 Overs and 15 Unders.  They are a fan's dream at 10-4 in home games.  You pay to see wins.

Toronto is 21st in ppg with 106.4, 19th in rpg with 44.4, 13th in AST/TO ratio with 1.7.  They are the posse that couldn’t shoot straight: 24th in FG%, 19th in 3PT%, 20th in FT%.  What keeps them in games is defense; they are 7th in defending points while allowing 105.2.

The Bulls are 12th in points per game with 109.3, 27th in rebounds per game with 42.9, and 9th in AST/TO ratio.  They have been plowing through the league this season because of fantastic shooting:  they are 6th in FG%, 3rd in 3PT%, 1st in FT% (yes the team with Lonzo Ball is shooting fantastic in all these categories).  They are also a bright spot in defense as well where theyare 9th in defense of points by allowing only 106.3 per game.

Our prediction for Wednesday, December 22st is….  Bulls 111 - Raptors 101

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to

join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Raptors/Bulls Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Bulls are 5-2 ATS versus Raptors the last 3 seasons.

Bulls are 3-1 ATS versus the Raptors at Chicago the last 3 seasons.

All four games in Chicago the last 3 seasons have gone Under.

Raptors: PG Fred VanVleet (covid), SG Gary Tent JR (covid), PF Pascal Siakam (covid), PG Malachi Flynn (covid)... All these players could miss the game or end up testing back before game time.  If they all miss the game Chicago wins easily… if they all play Chicago wins.

Bulls: SG Alex Caruso (foot) Questionable, PF Patrick Williams (wrist) Out, … then they are missing 6 players with covid, the only starter being SG Zach LaVine, again all could test back in by game time.

TOR: PF OG Anunoby, SF Scottie Barnes, C Chris Boucher, PG Fred VanVleet, SG Gary Trent JR

CHI: SF DeMar DeRozan, PF Javonte Green, C Nikola Vucevic, PG Lonzo Ball, SG Alex Caruso

Raptors

Points: Fred VanVleet 20.1

Assists: Fred VanVleet 6.7

Rebounds: Scottie Barnes 8.3

Steals: Gary Trent JR 2.2

Blocks: Scottie Barnes 1.0

Bulls

Points: Demar DeRozan 26.8 ppg

Assists: Lonzo Ball 5.0

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic

Steals: Alex Caruso 2.0

Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.0

Toronto: Nick Nurse.  Coach Nurse has an NBA title to his name.  This season will be his biggest test though… can he turn this around?

Chicago: Billy Donovan.  Coach Donovan must have a real nice bank account.  He won two NCAA Championships before jumping to the pros with OKC and jumped from that collapsing tower to the Bulls in 2020.