Bulls vs. Raptors prop bets for NBA play-in game: Expect Siakam to dominate on Wednesday
The Toronto Raptors welcome the Chicago Bulls to Scotiabank Arena in a win-or-go-home game.
The pregame narrative: Pascal Siakam is Toronto’s best player and we expect him to play like it on Wednesday night. We’re also fading DeMar DeRozan’s point prop and are riding Fred VanVleet’s assist hot streak.
NBA odds as of 11:31 a.m. on 04/11/2023.
Bulls vs. Raptors play-in prop bets
Best Bet: Siakam over 36.5 PRA (-110)
We’re betting on Toronto’s top scorer and lone all-star to show out in Wednesday’ elimination game.
Siakam’s had a mixed bag of performances lately, clearing this line in six of his last 10 games while averaging 25.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists (38.6 PRA). He’s only played the Bulls once this season and had 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a mediocre 7-for-18 shooting performance.
That doesn’t shy us away from this pick, though.
He’s been Toronto’s No. 1 option all season and we’re expecting him to carry a heavy load. Nick Nurse isn’t shy about running his stars all game long and there’s a good chance Siakam will see north of 40 minutes in this contest.
The Bulls are a solid defensive team but have trouble containing the opposition on the glass. Chicago allows the fifth-most rebounds per game to opposing power forwards, according to Fantasy Pros and its 49.3% rebound rate ranks 22nd in the NBA.
That said, we feel more comfortable backing Siakam on his PRA prop rather than his rebound line, which sits at over/under 8.5 as of late Tuesday morning.
Key stat: Siakam averaged 38.9 PRA at home this season.
Quick picks
DeRozan under 22.5 points (-129): DeRozan’s playoff shortcomings are well documented and he’s running ice cold heading into Wednesday’s contest — a fade seems appropriate here.
He’s fallen under this total in three straight games and in seven of his last nine. DeRozan is averaging just 18.1 points on 44.1% shooting in that span. Considering he takes most of his shots from inside the arc, that’s just not going to cut it.
DeRozan has played Toronto three times this season and fell under this mark in each contest. His former team held him to 13, 20 and nine points.
VanVleet over 7.5 assists (-139): There is some unwelcome juice tied to this bet but we’ll drink it considering the way VanVleet has been moving the rock lately.
Toronto’s point guard is averaging 8.6 assists per game since the all-star break, which is a full 2.0 assists higher than his 6.6 mark in the 50 games prior.
He’s cleared this line in 10 of 19 games in that span and went over this total in two of three games against the Bulls this season.
