Raptors at Bulls – Will the Return of Calderon be Enough?

BetOnline NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: CHICAGO -2, Total 197

Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* TOR has lost its last seven games SU

* TOR is 2-4-1 ATS in its last seven games

* TOR has played four of its last six games OVER the total

* TOR has lost seven of its last eight road games SU

* TOR has played seven of its last nine road games OVER the total

* CHI has lost five of its last seven games SU

* CHI has covered three of its last 12 games

* CHI has lost four of its last five home games SU

* CHI has covered two of its last nine home games

Also…

* TOR has won and covered four of the last six meetings SU

* Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total

* Three of the last four meetings in Chicago have gone UNDER the total

* TOR has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings

* CHI has had the rebounding edge in four of the last six meetings

* TOR has made more three-pointers in eight of the last nine meetings

It’s quite possible that Jose Calderon, who has played just one game in the last 11, will be available for this game for Toronto. It’s well-know by now that at this point in the season, approaching the All-Star break, Calderon has yet to miss a free throw, making 76 out of 76. He also has an assist-turnover ratio of four-to-one, so there is no question that his presence means something to this team. In fact, even through Chris Bosh is the team’s top scorer, he is probably the Raptor that is most deserving of All-Star recognition, despite the injuries.

The question is how much of a difference it will make for a club that has dropped seven straight games and clearly hasn’t responded to the appointment of interim coach Jay Triano. The Wednesday night loss to the Pistons, to the tune of 95-76, was tough to take, as the Raptors couldn’t make their free throws (Calderon could have helped there) and were out-rebounded by a 40-28 margin.

Trade rumors never help a situation either, and at the moment, the rumors are very strong that Jermaine O’Neal may be traded to the Miami Heat in a deal that would bring Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Toronto. It sounded pretty good at the start of the season, but I guess the consensus is that O’Neal and Chris Bosh aren’t quite meshing up front, even though O’Neal has posted numbers that are not so tragic (13.5 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.8 blocks). I guess they were expecting a lot more.

Chicago won two in a row, then lost consecutive games to San Antonio, New York and Atlanta, though they were competitive in all those games. Last Wednesday they went to the Air Canada Centre and beat the raptors 102-98, making 49% of their shots in the process. With Calderon out of the lineup, Derrick Rose had 25 points and ten assists. Andres Bargnani, who is playing more and more like a guy chosen #1 in the draft, had 31 for Toronto.

This is probably the healthiest the Bulls have been in a while. We don’t discount the presence of Calderon, at both ends of the floor, but Toronto lost plenty with him starting, and under the circumstances, this is not a big number to lay. We’ll side with the Bulls, the two-point favorite in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: CHICAGO -2 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay makes his share of shots from the top of the key as a contributor to the BetOnline Locker Room)