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The second play-in game for the Eastern Conference tournament in the 2023 NBA postseason is between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both come with a free trial.
Those are the two best live stream options if you’re cutting cable, but there are also some other alternatives, so here’s a full guide on the different ways to watch the Bulls vs Raptors streaming live online:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Bulls vs Raptors live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN is included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Bulls vs Raptors live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 40-plus other live TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with the ESPN channels, and you can get your first month for half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Bulls vs Raptors live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which now also includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Bulls vs Raptors live on the Hulu app or Hulu website.
Compatible devices for the Hulu app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which does not come with a free trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch the Bulls vs Raptors live on the Vidgo app or Vidgo website.
Compatible devices for the Vidgo app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Vidgo credentials to do that.
Bulls vs Raptors Preview
The play-in game is a relatively new feature of the NBA postseason; it is in its third year in 2023. The way it works is that the bottom four seeds (7 through 10) of each conference play in a mini tournament to determine the final two seeds of the conference tournament.
The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play each other in one game and the winner automatically advances to be the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament. The loser of that game faces off with the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 seed game to take the final slot of the conference tournament.
This year in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks earned the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds and they play on Tuesday, April 11. The No. 9 seed is Toronto, so they’ll host the No. 10 seed Chicago Bulls and the winner will face off the with the loser of the the Miami-Atlanta game on Friday, April 14. Whichever team wins on Friday will play a best-of-seven series against the league’s best team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the regular season, the Raptors beat the Bulls twice and the Bulls won once. In a pre-game press conference, Toronto guard Fred VanVleet said that the team has to come together if they want to win — it’s that simple. And if they can’t do it, then the season is over.
“We gotta shot and I think as long as you got an opportunity to go out there and play. I don’t really see another path foward other than everybody staying together, I think it’s pretty simple. We got a shot,” said VanVleet. “I don’t give a damn what you believe or how you feel about what the situation is, you’re in the locker room, you put a unifrom on, you gotta stay together and be a part of the team. It’s easy to show character when things are going well, but you gotta stand up when the things are not going well, so we gotta come together and lock arms and go out there and give it our best shot. There’s really no other way to do it and I think just having a one-track mine to that, it should be pretty simple for us.”
The play-in game between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls tips off on Wednesday, April 12 at approximately 7 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN 2.