NBA Basketball

2026-02-19 - Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

Toronto Raptors @ Chicago Bulls
United States : NBA Basketball
Thursday 19th February 2026 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)

Preview

Pre-season expectations are not always going to work out as imagined and the Toronto Raptors (32-23) are perhaps outperforming those around them. They have moved into the top six of the Eastern Conference and hold a 3 game lead over the Orlando Magic in the first of the Play In Tournament spots coming out of the All Star Break.

Back in October, the Raptors and Chicago Bulls (24-31) would have been seen in similar light, but the decisions made by the latter have cleared up their own ambitions for the remainder of the season.

That is to say that the Bulls have little ambition.

Six straight losses have piled up ahead of the All Star Break and the Chicago Bulls shipped off some of their talented players on the roster to underline where they see themselves. A top Draft Pick would ease the disappointment of a wasted season and the Bulls do still have some young talent to build around, which suggests they can get things turned out as soon as next season.

This also means the next couple of months could be difficult for Chicago who have slipped out of the top ten in the Eastern Conference standings and would likely prefer to avoid another Play In Tournament game. Getting into the top ten and losing early will not change the fortunes for the Bulls and the management seem to have acknowledged that fact.

During this six game losing run, the Bulls were beaten comfortably in Toronto and they have not really been as competitive as they would have liked. This is unlikely to change drastically coming out of the All Star Break and there is a fear they could be short-handed in the first game back in action.

The Bulls have continued to hit the three ball pretty well during this losing run and that may give them a chance to take the game to the Toronto Raptors. However, they are facing an opponent who have had a stronger success on the road this season and one who can exploit a Chicago Defensive unit that have not been making any consistent stops in recent games.

As they have dropped six games in a row, the Bulls have allowed teams to largely do what they want Offensively and a 53% Field Goal rate against them is nothing to be write home about.

Toronto may not have the flashy superstar names on the roster, but they have efficient and confident players and that should see them get going Offensively once a little of the lack of competitive action wears off. They are balanced on this side of the court and the Raptors will challenge the Bulls on the glass to try and pick up those second chance points in their bid to pull away.

The Raptors will respect the fact that they have lost their last two games in Chicago, but this Bulls roster looks stretched right now. Even if one or two players have used the All Star Break to recover and get back onto the court, the lack of intensity is the concern and that may allow Toronto to back up the home win over this opponent from earlier in the month.

Prediction

Lay the points with the road favourite and look for them to pull away in the second half once the rhythm of being back on the court gets back up to close to full speed.