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Who doesn't like Play-In basketball? Whether or not the seven or eight seeds end up making noise in their respective series is another question entirely - for now all we know is that this short postseason-primer makes for dramatic television. With the seven vs. eight matchups are in the books, the back-half of the Play-In will be underway tonight 😅

All jokes aside, Chicago facing off against Toronto should be a slow-paced matchup, considering both teams play defense but can stagnate offensively. Since March 1st, the Bulls have a road record of 8-1, good for the best mark in the league 💨

• Speaking of late-season resurgences, Zach LaVine has averaged 27 PPG since the All-Star break on 53% FG and 39% 3PT. Alex Caruso has been their best defensive player, and Chicago ended up finishing the season with the league's seventh best defense

• Jakob Poetl, the Raptor turned Spur turned back to Raptor, will present a challenge for the Bulls, who struggle to secure defensive rebounds

One would imagine a win-or-go-home situation would be in high demand, at least from a viewing perspective. While that's certainly the case in LA and even Toronto, New Orleans is struggling 👀

Bulls vs. Raptors Betting Preview (subject to change)

• Spread: Raptors -5.5

• Moneyline: Raptors -225, Bulls +188

• O/U: 214.5

Thunder vs. Pelicans Betting Preview

• Spread: Pelicans -5.5

• Moneyline: Pelicans -220, Thunder +184

• O/U: 228

Bright Futures

OKC managed to secure the tenth seed, despite initially being predicted to miss the Play-In entirely. They clearly blew expectations out of the water, and it was done without Chet Holmgren, who looks to suit back up with the team next year after nursing a foot injury. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the driving force behind an unexpected 40-win season for the Thunder, a team that has an average age of 22.8. This feels like ages ago 🍼

Amidst all the Xs and Os, the most intriguing aspect of the Pelicans and Thunder matchup will be how Brandon Ingram and SGA fare against each other. Ingram has been on a heater ever since March began, putting up 27.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 7.4 APG in that period 🔥

• SGA has a great chance of making first team All-NBA for his dominance throughout the season. But NOP has the personnel make life difficult Shai thanks to Herb Jones and BI

If this game remains close, I trust the Pelicans a bit more than the Thunder, who are very young and don't have much postseason experience as a roster. New Orleans was here last year and even managed to give the Suns some trouble 🦅

For My Parlay Gurus

This year feels like it might be a breakthrough for the ten seeds. I'm taking the Bulls to cover because their defense is similar to the Raptors, but I trust Chicago's shotmakers more. Meanwhile, the Thunder are playing with nothing to lose and have a young, energetic roster to make life difficult on Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. Give me OKC to cover as well 👇

• Bulls +5.5 vs. Raptors: -112

• Thunder +5.5 @ Pelicans: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $261 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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