The NBA Play-In Tournament continues on Wednesday with a crucial Eastern Conference matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors. The winner will have a chance to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round of the playoffs with another play-in win. A few Bulls-Raptors player props stand out for Wednesday’s play-in game — DraftKings and FanDuel have left too much value on the Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan player prop markets, respectively. Check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
Best Bulls-Raptors Play-In Game NBA Player Prop | DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan O/U 22.5 Points
Although DeMar DeRozan is likely to play almost the entirety of Wednesday’s play-in game, he is unlikely to clear this number. The Raptors held him to only 14 made field goals on 26 attempts across three games this season, leading him to tally just 42 total points and 14 per contest. DeRozan played 35-plus minutes in each outing. He is a sharp fade for Wednesday night.
The Raptors have locked down midrange shooters for most of the year. Toronto has allowed the third-fewest midrange shots per game on the season (3.7) and the sixth-fewest since the All-Star Break (3.8). DeRozan leads the NBA in midrange shots attempted per game this year (9.1). Those shots constitute more than half of his total field goal attempts. DeRozan has also gone cold from the perimeter and is shooting only 23.3% from beyond the arc in his last 10 games.
The books have set DeRozan’s points prop to precisely his per-game average since the All-Star Break: 22.5. That’s a sharp decline from the 25.4 he was averaging before the pause. This downtick corresponds to both a dip in field-goal percentage from 50.7% to 49.7% and a decline in usage rate from 27.8% to 25.7%. Chicago’s acquisition of Patrick Beverley has led to a meaningful reduction in DeRozan’s touches from 61.1 per game to 55.2.
Best Bulls-Raptors Player Prop: DeMar DeRozan Under 22.5 Points -118 at FanDuel for 1 Unit
Best Bulls-Raptors Play-In Game NBA Player Prop | Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic O/U 1.5 3-Pointers
When the Toronto Raptors acquired Jakob Poeltl at the trade deadline, they committed to featuring a traditional center in their starting lineup. That decision can leave sharpshooting big men open on the perimeter. Vucevic has averaged 1.9 3-pointers per game against Poeltl since the 2020-21 season that he played part of for the Orlando Magic. Vucevic made at least two triples in four of seven games against him.
Some other numbers point to value here as well. Vucevic is averaging 1.5 3-pointers per game and has sunk at least two triples in 36 of his 82 starts (43.9%). He has also averaged 1.7 3-pointers per game in away contests on 35.8% shooting, better than the 33.8% he shoots at home. Vucevic shot an impressive 4-for-6 from the perimeter in his most recent game against the Raptors, which came after the team acquired Poeltl. Further, the big man got more aggressive from beyond the arc in last year’s playoffs — he averaged 2.6 3-pointers per game on 8.4 attempts in Chicago’s series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Bettors looking to take advantage of this Bulls-Raptors player prop for their play-in game should head to DraftKings Sportsbook for the best deal on the over at +140. Other books like Caesars and FanDuel have the over priced at +130 or shorter. Readers yet to register at DraftKings can score $150 in bonus bets after winning a $5 moneyline wager!
Best Bulls-Raptors Player Prop: Nikola Vucevic Over 1.5 3-Pointers +140 at DraftKings for 0.75 Unit
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