Bulls vs. Raptors NBA play-in tournament odds, props, trends: Bettors mixed on spread, expect Fred VanVleet to score at least 19 points

The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors will face off in the Eastern Conference's 10 vs. 9 play-in game Wednesday night north of the border for the right to advance to the NBA playoffs. The Raptors are now 6-point favorites at BetMGM and the action on the spread is mixed. Bettors are hammering Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet on one prop. Click here for model picks. 

The season is over for tonight's loser. Both teams have key pending free agents: Nikola Vucevic for Chicago, and VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. for Toronto. The winner will travel to Miami on Friday and face the Heat for the East's No. 8 seed, which would be followed by a trip to play the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday for Game 1 of the first round.

It's the first play-in game in franchise history for both the Bulls and Raptors. Toronto won the regular-season series 2-1, taking both at home. No players are listed on the injury report for either side.

As of this writing, 46% of the bets and 55% of the handle have come in on the Raptors. The total has plummeted from an open of 216.5 to 212.5 with 44% of the action and 53% of the money on the Under.

Since the calendar flipped to 2023, the Bulls rank first in the NBA defensive rating (110.3). Since the All-Star break, Toronto leads the NBA with the fewest opponent field goal attempts (82.3) and is second in points per game allowed (108.6), while Chicago ranks first (107.9) in that category. The Raptors finished 31-6 this year when holding opponents to 110 points or fewer. The Bulls averaged 104.3 PPG in the season series.

Perhaps VanVleet will be a free-agent option this summer for the Bulls, as they need a point guard in the worst way and he's from nearby Rockford. The 29-year-old averaged 19.3 PPG this season and 20.0 PPG in the three Chicago games.

The most-wagered prop for Wednesday's game is VanVleet Over 18.5 points at -125, followed by Bulls guard Alex Caruso Over 9.5 points + rebounds + assists at -130 and Raptors center Jakob Poeltl over 13.5 points + assists at -115. In part due to injury, Caruso hasn't played more than 26 minutes in nine straight games but with tonight a do-or-die and Caruso as the team's top perimeter defender, he should play heavy minutes if he's healthy and not in foul trouble.

Toronto has won four straight at home, all by double digits, and is 27-14 at Scotiabank Arena. That's team's most home wins since the 2018-19 campaign when it was 32-9 there.

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