Two teams on the fringes of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament will meet north of the border on Friday night as the Chicago Bulls make the short trip to face the Toronto Raptors.
With an expensive and veteran-laden roster, the Bulls are experiencing another underwhelming season. They will need to maximize the remainder of the regular season if they want to again find themselves at least in the play-in with a chance of a playoff series. However, with the looming trade deadline, they could go the other way altogether.
The Raptors, meanwhile, knew they were headed into a year of transition ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, and it has been just that. With a youthful roster and an inexperienced head coach, Toronto’s view is one of long term.
With an NBA League Pass special on the slate this Friday in Toronto, check out our Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for January 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Matchup Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors Overview
Teams: Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors
Date: Friday, January 31
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Win Probabilities
The prediction tip for the winner in the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors is the Toronto Raptors.
Projected Final Score
Our predicted final score for this NBA matchup is Toronto Raptors 101-99 Chicago Bulls.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
Despite the Chicago Bulls holding the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in this spring’s Eastern play-in tournament, this game presents a matchup between two teams that are likely to be outsiders in April. With the Raptors well adrift of the top 10, they are headed for the NBA Draft lottery.
Next week’s trade deadline in the Windy City is approaching, and Chicago might soon follow suit. Multiple starters and Lonzo Ball could find themselves on the move out of Chicago as it retools amid another disappointing season.
Although this season has either exceeded or fallen short of their expectations, the Raptors are grateful for the slight stability they have achieved. After a 17-game stretch in which Toronto lost 16 games, it won five of six to capture a small bit of positive momentum.
In a curious battle between two teams in the league’s middle to lower class, either team could find an edge. It sets up a highly interesting battle between the Bulls and the Raptors.
Why the Chicago Bulls Can Cover
Despite having a trio of legitimately good NBA scorers in Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Coby White, as well as an excellent initiator and passer in point guard Lonzo Ball, the Chicago Bulls have not enjoyed good offense this year.
The Bulls are 17th in offensive rating across the 2024-25 NBA season and have sunk to the bottom 10 in the league by the same metric over their last 10 games. Yet, they have a route to cover in almost any matchup because while their offense as a whole lacks a high level, they are consistently an efficient shooting team.
Both Chicago’s shot selection and the rate at which it hits its selection of shots are encouraging from an offensive perspective. Chicago ranks ninth in effective field goal percentage this year, just a touch behind the Boston Celtics’ highly efficient offense. Similarly, the Bulls are 12th in true shooting percentage and are just slightly off the top 10, along with those same Celtics.
Their shot diet, too, reflects a sensible offense that has consistently prioritized the right kind of shots. Only the Celtics shoot more three point shots than the Bulls this year, with Chicago taking 46.5% of its total attempts from distance. The Bulls are again quite efficient in this area, hitting 37% of their three point attempts as a team and again fitting into the league’s top 10 in that regard.
Among the players in the rotation, Chicago has a pair of 40% three point shooters in LaVine and Vucevic, plus Talen Horton-Tucker and Coby White making their threes at a good rate. An efficient offense gives teams a chance to cover, and Chicago has an efficient offense.
Why the Toronto Raptors Can Cover
With five wins in their last six games, ahead of a week featuring matchups with the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls, the Toronto Raptors can give their fans a slight reprieve from a tough year.
In order to succeed against the Bulls and keep the momentum going, the Raps will look to a defense that has struggled all season long. Toronto’s defense is ranked 27th in defensive rating this year and only 25th across the last 10 games when it has won some games, but it has a path to impactful play here.
Toronto is a great team when it comes to getting out and running in transition and scoring off of turnovers. Despite the Raptors being in the bottom half of the league in offensive rating this year, they are fourth in the league in fast break points per game, trailing just the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons. With multiple long, disruptive defenders, the Raptors also create fast break opportunities at a decent clip, forcing 14.5 turnovers per game.
The Bulls will likely give them those opportunities, too, with the hallmarks of a pressing team making mistakes. The Bulls are around league average in fast break points conceded per game, with a mark of 15.4 per game, but they do provide the opportunities. Chicago is on the fringe of the bottom 10 in turnovers per game, giving it up an average of 15.1 times per game.
In what is a close matchup, extra possessions for Toronto off of Bulls turnovers would open up a wide path for the Raptors to cover on Friday night.
How to Make Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors Picks
Ready to make picks on the Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors matchup on Friday, January 31? Make sure to head over to Sportzino, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend and so much more!
