Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls 12/30/18: Starting Lineups, Matchup Breakdown, Odds, Daily Fantasy, Betting
Toronto Raptors vs, Chicago Bulls Preview
Two teams on opposite sides of the Eastern Conference face off tonight as the Toronto Raptors (26-11) host the Chicago Bulls (10-26) north of the border.
The Raptors lost the top spot in the Eastern Conference they had held all season as a result of their most recent loss, and the Milwaukee Bucks winning three straight.
The Raptors have split their last ten games. The Bulls won their last game, but have only won four of their last 10.
In their most recent matchup, on November 17, Toronto absolutely thrashed the Bulls 122-83. The Raptors were led in that game by Fred VanVleet’s 18 points.
TV Schedule
Date: 12/30/18
Time: 6:00pm ET
Arena: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Channel: NBCSCH, TSN
Toronto Raptors Starting Lineup
| Position | Starter |
|---|---|
| PG | Kyle Lowry |
| SG | Danny Green |
| SF | Kawhi Leonard |
| PF | Pascal Siakam |
| C | Serge Ibaka |
Raptors Analysis
The Raptors were once again without Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valnciunas on Friday, but it was their horrid shooting and not the loss of those two players that affected the Raptors most in a surprising 87-116 loss to the Orlando Magic.
When 21 points and six rebounds is a ho-hum night for Kawhi Leonard, that tells you just how much this team relies on him to put up big numbers on a nightly basis.
Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and VanVleet broke double digits, but Pascal Siakam and Danny Green struggled, putting up only a combined six points.
A 35-15 third-quarter run by the Magic ended up being too much to come back from as Nikola Vucevic had another standout night with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Getting Lowry back would be a welcome change for the Raptors, but before being sidelined by injury, Lowry was struggling to score as he took more of a role as a distributor.
Raptors Quick Links: Raptors Starting Lineup, Raptors Roster, Raptors Depth Chart, Raptors Injuries, Raptors News, Raptors Schedule
Chicago Bulls Starting Lineup
| Position | Starter |
|---|---|
| PG | Kris Dunn |
| SG | Zach LaVine |
| SF | Chandler Hutchison |
| PF | Lauri Markkanen |
| C | Wendell Carter Jr. |
Contents
Bulls Analysis
The Chicago Bulls fired their head coach, and then took their single big-name offseason acquisition out of the regular rotation, and yet none of these changes have seemed to move the needle in Chicago.
But the Bulls will take wins where they can get them, and they got one on Friday night against the Washington Wizards 101-92.
Beating a 14-23 team may not be much to write home about, but the Bulls have been looking for any positive sign they could get lately.
Another positive was that on Friday, Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markannen all played. Injuries have kept the young Bulls trio from playing together this season. They’ll look to build some momentum, and a win tonight could go a long way.
Bulls Quick Links: Bulls Starting Lineup, Bulls Roster, Bulls Depth Chart, Bulls Injuries, Bulls News, Bulls Schedule
Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls Betting Odds
The Toronto Raptors opened as -11 point favorites, and the spread is currently live at -10.5. The over/under is 209 points.
Toronto is 120-41 at home and 173-61 as the favorite. Chicago is 49-95 on the road and 68-129 as the underdog.
Odds & Line Movement Links: Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls, Vegas Odds (All NBA Games Today)
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DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Picks
Kawhi Leonard ($10.2k) and Zach LaVine ($7.8k) are the fantasy studs for tonight’s matchup. Leonard is projected for a monster game tonight on FanDuel with 49.73 points. LaVine is expected to rack up 36.83 fantasy points.
LaVine is really at the edge of what I would also consider a value, but let’s go with another Bulls player as well, rookie Wendell Carter ($5.4k) who is projected for 26.9 points. Danny Green ($4.5k) has been consistent for the Raptors all year but he did struggle some in his last game. Look for him to add to your scoring, three-point percentage and defensive categories with a FanDuel projection of 24.55 points.
Find all of our Fanduel and Draftkings projections here: https://www.lineups.com/nba/nba-fantasy-basketball-projections.
