Toronto Raptors vs Chicago Bulls Prediction: A loss means end of the road

The NBA Postseason is here and we are into the phase where a loss can be fatal. The action is high-octane at this point and the intensity levels peak like never before. Therefore, teams need to prepare differently during this period and be ready for any difficult situation. In the Play-in tournament, for ninth and tenth seeds, a loss means the end of the season and to get into the Playoffs, they need to win two in a row. In this game, the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls are going to clash and the winner of the clash is going to meet the Miami Heat.

The Raptors won 41 and lost 41 games in the season and this season didn’t go as expected. The team started slow and continued to be slow till midseason, beginning with 20 wins and 27 losses, but then they picked up 21 wins and 14 losses to pick up their game. Their defense improved in that window and their offense acquired more balance after the point. This means the Raptors have been on the rise lately. Apart from Pascal Siakam, the team saw other players stepping it up. Siakam averaged almost 25 points and apart from that, Fred Van Vleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr, and Scottie Barnes also played crucial roles. Jakob Poeltl had a strong showing too and he made a huge difference after the midseason trade.

The Bulls come into this game after finishing the Regular Season with 40 wins and 42 losses. Chicago had a turbulent season from the beginning and struggle to get in the rhythm throughout the campaign. They had 26 wins and 33 losses but then they played a much better rhythm, winning 14 and losing nine. One big issue the Bulls faced all season was getting the desired product from their Point Guard and the Big Forward position. They were overly reliant upon the duo of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Defensively, the Bulls were inconsistent at best and had trouble closing out games because of that. During the Postseason, they will need more out of Nikola Vucevic.

• Raptors: OUT:: Otto Porter Jr;
• Bulls: OUT: Lonzo Ball, Justin Lewis.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Zach LaVine(24-32 Points), Pascal Siakam(22-28 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Nikola Vucevic(11-13 Rebounds), Pascal Siakam(9-12 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Fred Van Vleet (7-9 Assists), Zach LaVine(6-8 Assists).

The Raptors have been playing at a high keel lately but their players apart from Fred Van Vleet have struggled. The Bulls have been much better lately and their Center Nikola Vucevic is playing much better. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond here in this elimination game. I will back the Raptors’ chances here and I predict a scoreline of 116:112 in favor of the Raptors.