The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors, the top two teams in the Eastern Conference standings, will collide on Thursday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
Toronto Raptors (7-1)
The Raptors are off to their best start in franchise history this season, but Thursday's game against the Bulls will be an acid test for the young squad, who are coming off a tough win against the struggling Orlando Magic squad.
Toronto had to erase an 11-point deficit in the final period to escape with a 104-100 win against the Magic on Tuesday. Raptors coach Dwyane Casey knows that they can't afford to play like that against playoff teams, but point guard Greivis Vasquez took the hard-earned win positively.
"It was a test of our character and we got the win," Vasquez said via ESPN. "It wasn't pretty, stars didn't play the way we wanted them to play, but we got the second unit playing the right way."
The Raptors will once again rely on star playmaker Kyle Lowry, who is averaging 18.0 points to go along with 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game this season, and DeMar DeRozan, who is averaging 21.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Chicago Bulls (6-2)
The Bulls are also off to a strong start this season despite being slowed down by injuries to key players Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler.
The Bulls bounced back from a tough loss to the Boston Celtics with a convincing 102-91 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Monday in Chicago where Rose returned from a two-game layoff to score 24 points to go along with seven assists.
Rose, who is averaging 17.5 points to go along with 5.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds this season, is still bothered by his sprained ankles, and is listed "probable" for Thursday's game against the Raptors.
The 26-year-old point guard recently said that he will sit out games if he feels not ready to play, saying that he is thinking about his long-term health and future life after basketball.
TV Schedule, Live Stream, Predictions
The Bulls-Raptors match will tip off at 8:00 PM EST and will be shown live on TNT. Basketball fans can also catch the action online through NBA League Pass. The Bulls, who are a more complete team, should be a slight favorite to win against the Raptors on Thursday.
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