Things are getting tight in the Eastern Conference.
At 38-29, the Raptors are currently the fifth seed in the East. However, Toronto, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and Philadelphia are all separated by only two games in the standings, and that’s not even accounting for the red-hot Hornets, who sit in 10th place. That’s how a random mid-week tilt between the Raptors and the Bulls suddenly has a ton of importance in the race for the postseason.
Can Toronto win its third contest in a row and stay above the pack? Let’s preview this tilt with the help of some of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Raptors at Bulls prediction, preview
Toronto is directly on the heels of what is likely its biggest victory of 2025-26. On Sunday, the Raptors welcomed the East-leading Pistons to Scotiabank Arena, and promptly defeated them by a score of 119-108. Ignoring a horrendous shooting performance from Immanuel Quickley, every Toronto starter found a way to contribute in the winning effort. Brandon Ingram led the way with 34 points, RJ Barrett added 27 of his own on 11-for-17 shooting, Jakob Poeltl set a season-high with 18 rebounds, and, finally, Scottie Barnes stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. The Raptors outscored Detroit by 22 points in the 37.6 minutes that Barnes was on the court. Not too shabby for the two-time All-Star.
Aside from individual showings, the win was simply symbolic for a Toronto squad that has long struggled to play up to its competition. In fact, prior to last Friday’s comeback victory over the Suns, the Raptors had dropped nine straight games against teams above .500 in the standings. For the season as a whole, Toronto had also lost its first seven matchups with the “elite” of the Eastern Conference (the Pistons, the Celtics and the Knicks). The Raptors didn’t just need to win on Sunday to stay out of a Play-In spot, they needed it to prove they could make some noise if they did actually end up making the playoffs.
The Bulls have no such postseason dreams, yet March is going a lot better for the franchise than a winless February did — not a high bar to clear, I know. Chicago is 4-4 in the month with a +1.3 net rating, though that mark is greatly assisted by a 25-point victory over the hapless Grizzlies on Monday night. It’s also assisted by a healthy Josh Giddey, who is once again making his case to be the central building block of the Bulls’ future. Giddey has started seven of Chicago’s eight contests in March and he’s produced a triple-double five times. Five times! For the month, the former lottery pick is averaging 19.0 points, 12.0 assists and 11.7 rebounds per game with a very respectable 60.9% true shooting rate. If the Bulls are able to pull off an upset on Wednesday, it’ll likely be because Giddey went nuclear.
Raptors at Bulls pick, best bet
Best Bet: Brandon Ingram 25+ Points (+108)
These two teams met twice in February, and Ingram exceeded the 30-point plateau on both occasions. At the end of the day, the Bulls’ post-deadline roster construction isn’t balanced. This is a squad that lacks depth on the wing and size, which can make defending a lanky scorer like Ingram a real problem. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ingram’s averaging 35.0 points over his last two starts, either.
