Paul Gasol dominates the Raptors as the Bulls make a statement at the ACC.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 30 MIN | 4-9 FG | 5-7 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | -6Other than a momentary third quarter offensive resurgence, didn’t do much. Forget checking Gasol, he couldn’t even get the weakside rebounds available to him, and appeared to be firmly rooted to the ground in every situation where, perhaps, jumping might help. He was on the floor as a center when the Raptors made a small but ultimately fruitless run, during which he looked far more engaged. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 32 MIN | 5-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +1I can’t point to a single positive quality other than making the occasional open jumper, and you have to be disappointed in the overall impact he’s having on the game. 3-and-D? How about just sticking with Mike Dunleavy, and when he did try to close-out, he did it in a way which would make Jose Calderon shake his head. Right now he doesn’t deserve to start, his three-shot foul on Dunleavy with the Raptors down 5 and the clock ticking down sealed our fate. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 23 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -11Strong to start the game and got weaker as the game progressed, which coincided with Gasol getting stronger. Got benched in the second half, somewhat unfairly, cementing my feelings that he’s become the coach’s favorite whipping boy. He was one of the few bigs actively fighting for rebounds but defensively, eaten alive by the much more experienced, Gasol, who has a variety of moves to get his shot on the rim in 1v1 situations. But that’s as much on the coach as anyone. I could not understand why he got benched in the second half, given he was the only big man able to rebound in traffic. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 34 MIN | 8-19 FG | 1-3 FT | 8 REB | 8 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 20 PTS | -3Needed to take the game over in the third when things went south, and instead deferred. Rose got past him a few times in the first half, and Lowry had a few good moments of his own, but overall, as the best player on the Raptors, he was missing in that crucial third. Sensed the Bulls stepping off the pedal in the fourth and propelled the team to a late comeback. I thought he had a chance to attack the wobbly Rose much more often than he did, and force the Chicago defense to come out and not just camp out for easy rebounds. | |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 33 MIN | 3-17 FG | 4-4 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | -2Shot the Raptors out of the game in the third. On the weekly pod I mentioned that this game was going to come down to how he would handle Jimmy Butler, and that was a big part of the game. He got shut down again by a lengthy wing (remember DeMarre Carroll) who pressures his dribbling with constant reaches, forces him further out than he likes, and is quick enough to stay with him. Didn’t have enough catch-and-shoots or hand-off plays and was reduced to a jump shooter, and a poor one at that. The defense sucked, too. I’m actually quite OK with him trying out his jumper as long as the shots are clean. But when they’re not going in and the opposition is feeding off of your misses, it’s time to drive. |  |
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 8 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3Came in, got injured after falling on his back and left. At least while he was in there he tried to get rebounds, which already gives him an above-average grade. | |
 | James Johnson, PF 24 MIN | 7-9 FG | 2-3 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 4 STL | 4 BLK | 1 TO | 16 PTS | -1Very energetic first half where he pressure up top causing turnovers and scoring, played excellent one-on-one defense, and played very intelligent offense by schooling rookie, Doug McDermott, and even chewing up Butler in the block (DeRozan, take note, that’s how it’s done). Unfortunately, his coach iced him in the third quarter and he didn’t see the floor until three minutes left in the third, by which time the game was out of hand. [gfy]FrightenedOrnateHookersealion[/gfy] |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 24 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | -7Victim of extremely poor court spacing, meaning guys like Dunleavy, Butler, and Hinrich were always available to cover his potential looks, and the guy doesn’t have a back-down game where he can take guys who are checking him outside, inside. He had one meaningful shot, a three in the second quarter when Gasol didn’t come out. Other than that, useless on offense and impotent on defense, the latter of which I forgive since Gasol had already warmed up by the time Patterson had his shot on him. Also, got stripped twice under the rim on plays he should’ve scored on. |  |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 14 MIN | 2-5 FG | 3-4 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 7 PTS | +2Completely irresponsible. Had a brief stretch in the second where the bench shined, mostly thanks to James Johnson. The rest of his night was filled with bad passes, lazy defense, and poor decisions. The no-look pass pass he threw behind his head right under the basket was converted to a three-point play on the break, which might be the silliest play of the night. |  |
 | Louis Williams, SG 16 MIN | 1-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | -9Good second quarter stint, but by the time Casey called on him in the second half, the game was out of hand and all he could do at that point was start jacking up shots. He did, and he missed. | |
 | Lucas Nogueira, C Has not entered game MIN | FG | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | [gfy]DeafeningDiscreteHarrier[/gfy] |  |
 | Dwane Casey No plan to tackle Gasol, who continued to abuse every Raptors big with nary a help defender in sight. Iced our best player on the night, James Johnson, in the third during which time the Bulls took complete control. Couldn’t figure out what the court balance should be, resulting in the Bulls dominating the boards. It’s almost like he had no plan, or at least a poorly communicated plan, for the Bulls’ interior strength. |  |
Five Things We Saw
- The Raptors were outscored 35-14 in the third quarter. Some stats from that frame:Points in the Paint: Bulls 16, Raptors 8
Second Chance Points: Bulls 4, Raptors 0
Fastbreak Points: Bulls 6, Raptors 0
Rebounds: Bulls 12, Raptors 8
Assists: Bulls 8, Raptors 3It was the quarter from hell - The rebounding has been a major issue all season which has been masked by maintaining a positive turnover ratio and shooting a high percentage, but when you come across a team that’s actually rotating out to shooters and pressuring the ball, the number of possessions become a much greater factor.
- This crazy notion of playing small against a big Bulls lineup didn’t compute. I get that you want to play “your” game, but not when it comes to rebounding. The Raptors were doing well with Valanciunas in there fighting for rebounds, all we needed to do was send some help against Gasol to contain him. Instead, we tried to bring Gasol out by playing a lineup featuring Patrick Patterson and Amir Johnson, which just meant Noah and Gasol/Gibson would be able to control the paint. Once we started missing jumpers from the outside (the potential advantage of going small), it all back-fired.
- The Raptors did supply some excellent pressure defense in the fourth quarter to get back in the game down 5. I realize you can’t play 48 minutes like that, but we really need to see much more of that, especially since we have the personnel that are suited to that kind of play.
- A loss isn’t the end of the world. The Bulls have what the Raptors don’t: experience. That’ll come with time, and these games, if nothing else, are a learning experience for both the players and the coach. The Raptors didn’t quit in this game which is very important, they fought back and perhaps if the game was 5 minutes longer, would’ve won. What’s important now is the response. After the Miami game, it was great. Let’s do that again.
