In their final game before the Christmas break, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are set to take on the Toronto Raptors at home at the United Center on the night of Dec. 22. The Bulls will have their three games in four days when they take on the Raptors on Dec. 22.
Donovan and the Bulls are coming off a set of back-to-back games on Dec. 19 and 20 where they built up a two-game winning streak, despite the plethora of players still missing due to the health and safety protocol and other injury issues. With that, the Bulls are looking to get their 20th win of the season so far if they can top the Raptors on this night.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are coming into this game sporting a record of 14-15 following their Dec. 18 loss at home to the Golden State Warriors. The Raptors also had their last game, which was supposed to come earlier this week against the Orlando Magic, postponed due to COVID-19-related issues.
Both the Bulls and Raptors are still dealing with a plethora of issues related to COVID-19 and the health and safety protocol. According to the NBA’s most recent injury report released on the morning of Dec. 22, the Bulls are still missing the likes of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu, and power forward Alize Johnson, among others, due to the health and safety protocol.
It is also worth noting that the Bulls are missing point guard Alex Caruso and forward Derrick Jones Jr. for this game due to other injury issues they’re facing outside of COVID-19.
On the Raptors’ side, they are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak of their own now. The Raptors are missing the likes of star forward Pascal Siakam, rookie forward Scottie Barnes, and standout point guard Fred VanFleet, among others, due to the health and safety protocol.
There are a ton of Raptors players that are missing right now due to the health and safety protocol.
Here’s a look into the betting odds and prediction for this game as the Bulls get set to take on the Raptors at home at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 22, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a 10.5-point favorite over the Raptors in this game on the morning ahead of the Dec. 22 tip-off. And the over/under is set at 212 points.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 68.6 percent chance to beat the Raptors in this game.
Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors prediction
There is a lot of bad news on both sides for this game as the Bulls prepare to take on the Raptors. The Bulls having Caruso and Jones out due to other injury issues is unfortunate. We didn’t know initially how long Caruso would be out for after he exited the game earlier this week in the Bulls win over the Houston Rockets on Dec. 20.
Caruso is now dealing with a foot injury and is listed as out for this meeting with the Raptors ahead of the Christmas break.
Once again, it looks like the Bulls will have to rely on the production from the likes of star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, center Nikola Vucevic, and point guard Lonzo Ball. Granted, that is much better than what the Raptors will be relying on here without the services of anyone like Siakam, Barnes, or VanFleet.
Siakam is one player, in particular, that seemingly can’t catch a break this season. He got off to a solid start this season in the first 17 games he played in. But he debuted late for the Raptors, and now could be in the health and safety protocol until after the turn of the calendar year.
Moreover, I like the Bulls’ chances here as they could ride the trio of DeRozan, Vucevic, and Ball to get a win over a very shorthanded Raptors team. This just feels like a game that sees DeRozan go off. He shouldn’t need to do too much, though for the Bulls to come out on top here.