The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors are playing live on the NBA schedule on Wednesday night and the matchup from the Air Canada Centre is on ESPN and streaming online from the WatchESPN website at 7 pm ET as the two east teams matchup and they both are headed to the playoffs and have nearly identical records as Kyle Lowry, Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler get in action.
The Bulls come into the game after a win against the Charlotte Hornets and they will next play against the Knicks at home on Saturday. The team is second in the central division behind the Cavaliers and they are playing once again without Derrick Rose after his knee injury earlier in the season. The Bulls have 43 wins on the season and they come in after getting 28 points from Nikola Mirotic and 12 rebounds from Pau Gasol.
The Bulls have played much better on offense compared to last season, but with Rose out it will be tough to make a run to the finals. The Raptors have been one of the upstart teams in the east and after making the playoffs last season they are ready to do it again as the Atlantic division champs. The team has 42 wins on the season and they have gotten some strong play from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan this year.
DeRozan comes in after leading the team with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against the Pistons and they will next play the Lakers at home. The Raptors come into the game at fourth in the league in scoring this season with 104 points per game and they have the chance to make some noise in the playoffs after losing to the Nets last season.
Jimmy Butler is having a strong season and he missed some time with an injury and has come back and he needs to keep playing well for the Bulls to have any chance in the playoffs. The east seeds are still up for grabs this season and the Raptors have the chance to get the number three seed with the Atlantic division title. The Bulls have clinched and the two teams now are battling for playoff position.
Butler played for the first time in 12 games after dealing with an elbow injury and he came back for the matchup against the Hornets. Butler added 19 points in the game with nine rebounds and the team is hoping he can stay healthy for the back stretch.
Check here for the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors live coverage.