While it was slightly surprising the Raptors were buyers and not sellers at the NBA trade deadline, one thing appears certain is Scottie Barnes is a cornerstone of their franchise. The versatile forward is having a solid sophomore campaign but has seen his efficiency related stats take a slight dip compared to his brilliant rookie season. Barnes has struggled from the field during the month of February and is shooting below 40%. He has been a lot more aggressive however and has scored in double digits in thirteen consecutive games. He’s also been on the court a ton playing close to 38 minutes a game. Fred VanVleet will be returning to the lineup tonight for the Raptors and Barnes is averaging 16.2 points per game with Vanvleet in the lineup and only 12.7 when VanVleet has been inactive this season. I like Barnes to score at least 15 points tonight.

Poeltl has proven to be a stellar addition for the Raptors. It took him a couple of games to get adjusted to his new surroundings, but he has averaged 18.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.3 blocks over the last four games. During that span, he had at least nine rebounds in each game. The Bulls allow a ton of offensive rebounds, and they miss a lot of shots. When Poeltl faced them as a member of the Spurs earlier this season, he finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Look for him to have another productive evening on the glass here.

The Bulls have looked great in their first two games since signing Patrick Beverley but those were at home against teams missing at least one key player. Not the case here and Chicago is 10-20 on the road. Fred VanVleet missed Toronto's first three out of the break for personal reasons but isn't on the injury report any longer, so the Dinos are whole.