Tip-off: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Toronto -3, Total: 182

Two red-hot Eastern Conference teams will square off north of the border on Wednesday night when the Bulls and Raptors each look to win their fourth straight game.

Chicago's defense has been outstanding during its win streak, holding opponents to a paltry 82.3 PPG on 42.4% FG and winning these contests by a hefty 12.3 PPG. Toronto has also won handily during its win streak, outscoring these three opponents by a 12.7 PPG margin with a hefty 105.0 PPG of offense, while allowing a paltry 92.3 PPG. The Bulls are a mediocre 12-15 SU (12-14-1 ATS) on the road this season, but have gone 9-4 SU (8-4-1 ATS) in 13 road contests since Christmas Day. In this same timeframe, the Raptors are an outstanding 10-2 SU (9-2-1 ATS) at home to improve to a 14-10 SU (12-11-1 ATS) at Air Canada Centre this season. These teams have met three times this season, with the road team prevailing in each instance. Starting in 2010, the Bulls held a significant 8-1 SU advantage in this series over a nine-game stretch, but Toronto has won four of the past five meetings since, and is 8-2 ATS in the past 10 matchups. Both teams have positive betting trends for this matchup, as Chicago is 41-22 ATS (65%) on the road in the past three seasons where the total is between 180 and 189.5 points, and Toronto is 11-2 ATS (85%) versus good rebounding teams (3+ RPG margin) this season. With C Amir Johnson (ankle) expected to play against the Bulls, the only other injury to note is SF Landry Field (wrist) being out for likely another week.

Which team will extend its win streak to four games on Wednesday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The five StatFox experts have been sizzling with a 61% ATS record (19-12-1) since Feb. 10, making them 53% ATS (144-129-7) since Dec. 1. StatFox Zach has a stellar 59% ATS mark (31-22-3) on Best Bets since Dec. 1 and is 54% ATS (42-36-3) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Dave has a strong 59% ATS (33-23-1) Best Bets record since Dec. 1 and is 54% ATS (43-37-1) on Best Bets for the season, while StatFox Brian is catching fire, going 74% ATS (14-5-1) since Jan. 25 and 60% ATS (29-19-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 12.

Chicago remains the lowest-scoring offense in the NBA with a mere 92.3 PPG, and makes a paltry 42.5% FG (3rd-worst in league) and 33.5% threes (4th-worst in NBA). This club also commits too many turnovers at 14.8 per game (7th-most in league). But on the other end of the court, the Bulls are outstanding, allowing only 92.3 PPG (2nd in NBA) on 43.4% FG (3rd in league), thanks in big part to a +3.5 RPG margin (3rd in NBA) and 5.3 blocks per game (8th in league). C Joakim Noah (11.9 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.4 BPG) has been one of the NBA’s best centers this season, but his strength is his defense and it he has not been great against the Raptors this season. In addition of having trouble defensively with Jonas Valanciunas, Noah has made just 13-of-30 FG (43%) in the three meetings with Toronto where he's averaged 11.7 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 4.3 APG. If the Bulls are going to stand a chance in this game, they will need a strong performance from PG D.J. Augustin (10.9 PPG, 4.5 APG). Augustin is averaging 17.0 PPG (48% threes) and 5.1 APG in his past 16 games, and the Bulls will need him to use his quickness to stay in front of Kyle Lowry defensively while also getting into the lane to create shots on offense. PF Taj Gibson (12.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.5 BPG) must also keep up his great play as he is averaging 21.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.8 BPG over the past five contests. He hasn't been a big factor in this season series though, averaging only 7.3 PPG (39% FG) and 6.0 RPG. SG Jimmy Butler (12.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG) had 15 points and seven boards in the last meeting between these teams on New Year's Eve, and the Bulls could really use another game like that on Wednesday. He will also need to chase around DeMar DeRozan on the perimeter, making his performance vital to the outcome of Wednesday's matchup.

Toronto has been an average offensive team this season with 99.7 PPG (17th in NBA) on 43.9% FG (22nd in league) and 36.5% threes (12th in NBA). The Raptors rebound pretty well with a +1.5 RPG margin (11th in league) and don't turn the ball over much with 13.4 TOPG (9th in NBA). Defensively they are even better, giving up only 96.8 PPG (4th in league) on 44.6% FG (9th in NBA). Toronto came out of the All-Star break on Tuesday and shot lights-out (season-high 56.8% FG) in a 103-93 road win over Washington. PG Kyle Lowry (16.8 PPG, 7.6 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG) posted his third straight double-double in that victory with 24 points and 10 assists, increasing his averages over this streak to 19.7 PPG, 11.7 APG, 5.0 RPG and 2.0 SPG. Lowry should do a lot of damage against the Bulls, who aren’t particularly strong at the point guard position. In the past two meetings against Chicago, which were both Raptors victories, Lowry is averaging 14.5 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.5 RPG and 2.0 SPG. C Jonas Valanciunas (10.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG) has also dominated in these past two meetings with Chicago with 15.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 3.0 BPG, which is pretty impressive considering Joakim Noah is as tough of a matchup as there is at the center position. SG DeMar DeRozan (22.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) had 37 points in the loss to Chicago to start the season, but in two wins over the Bulls, he averaged just 13.0 PPG on 10-of-26 FG (39%). Toronto will need DeRozan to find his scoring touch against Chicago, something he has had no trouble doing this month with 25.7 PPG (35% threes), 5.4 APG and 4.3 RPG in seven games.