Pre-game news & notes: Raptors have full squad; Carroll starts, Valanciunas off bench

The Raptors have a #FullSquad for the first time in weeks.

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The Toronto Raptors are set to take on the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. on Sportsnet One. I’m not sure I’ve been this excited for a game all season long.

My gut feeling is that the Raptors really get up for this one. They’re 19-12 while the Bulls are 16-12, and I believe the Raptors think they’re the second-best team in the Eastern Conference (I’m sure they’d say “best,” but that’s kind of beside the point). The Bulls are the biggest threat to Cleveland on reputation, but a good chunk of that is based on the flawed assumption that Derrick Rose will eventually be Derrick Rose again. As it stands, the Bulls remain a great defensive outfit in the post-Tom Thibodeau era but are a bottom-five offense, and the Raptors know all too well how tough it is to be a one-sided team.

Zarar and I spoke more about this on the podcast this morning, but nobody has established themselves behind Cleveland. Chicago, Toronto, Atlanta, Miami, and Indiana all have some degree of claim, and if the Raptors truly believe they’re being undersold and that spot should be theirs, Monday is a great time to come out and prove it.

#FullSquad Alert
The Raptors will have a full complement of players with which to do so, too, the first time that’s been true since Jonas Valanciunas fractured a finger on Nov. 20. I don’t think it would be possible to have gone deeper on the return of Valanciunas than I did this morning, and the starting lineup is still a question mark, but his return is unquestionably a good thing. It may not look that way initially as the Raptors work Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll back into the fold (Caroll remains on a minutes restriction and Valanciunas is expected to see short shifts, per Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun), but it’s great news for the team, say, a week from now when everyone’s got their groove back.

UPDATE: Per Wolstat, Valanciunas will come off the bench.

It’s the first time he’s come off the bench since March 2, 2013. He came off the bench in his first four games back from fracturing a finger on his shooting hand during his rookie season, then returned to the starting lineup and strangely played a single game off the bench a few weeks later. In those five games, he averaged four points and 4.4 rebounds in 11.5 minutes, though he stands to see more playing time than that now that he’s an established part of the rotation.

Valanciunas will eventually reclaim his starting job, but he’ll work his way back into form off the bench, like Carroll did.

UPDATE 2: Per Raptors media relations, Carroll will return to the starting lineup in place of James Johnson.

The rotation should look something like this:

PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, James Johnson, Bruno Caboclo
PF: Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, Anthony Bennett
C: Bismack Biyombo, Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira

Bulls shorthanded
The Bulls remain without Joakim Noah (shoulder) and Mike Dunleavy (appearing as Chris Jericho on Fozzy’s latest tour). Their rotation should look something like this, though the Bulls are liable to shuffle and swap positions as they look for a post-Noah chemistry (they’ve lost four of five overall):

PG: Derrick Rose, Aaron Brooks
SG: Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, E’Twaun Moore
SF: Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott, Tony Snell
PF: Taj Gibson, Cameron Bairstow
C: Pau Gasol, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio

LATE UPDATE: The Bulls scratched Doug McDermott right before tip-off due to a right knee injury, per Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.

Is Jimmy Butler DeMar DeRozan’s father?…
This song was originally written to LeBron James, but the sentiment could have been about DeRozan, who struggled a great deal against Butler’s defense last season.

Butler is one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders and has developed into a comparable talent to DeRozan on the offensive end. This is not only a battle of perhaps the two best two-guards in the East this season, but a great opportunity for DeRozan to get a bit of a monkey off of his back, having recently shed any concern over how he’d play against strong defenders like Kawhi Leonard and Khris Middleton. DeRozan’s scored 20-plus in nine consecutive games, turning in perhaps the best three-week stretch of his career. Butler is a major test, one who may loom as a potential playoff opponent. It’s must-see Raptors viewing.


In nine meetings against Butler, DeRozan has averaged 20.2 points and averaged 6.8 free-throw attempts, but Butler really only became this version of Butler last season. In two meetings last year, DeRozan totaled 30 points in 73 minutes, shooting 10-of-36 from the field and taking just 10 free-throw attempts. Butler, meanwhile, hung 44 points on 14-of-18 from the floor and took 17 free-throw attempts. Carroll will help with keeping Butler in check on offense but this could be a major statement game for DeRozan on offense.

And yes, you will listen to that song four or five times before tip-off. It’s bad but it’s weirdly catchy.

…No. And probably don’t ask.
I am on Twitter way too much. This is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me on it:


So when DeRozan goes off for 50 tonight, you’re welcome.

I can’t be more clear about this: The original tweet wasn’t an insult or anything like that. DeRozan struggled against Butler last season + that catchy song + my excitement for the game = that tweet. I’ve been highly complimentary of DeRozan’s play of late, here, on the podcast, and on radio hits. He’s been so good, which is why the game is an exciting test.

The Line
The Raptors are 1.5-point underdogs after opening as two-point underdogs, which feels about right. Teams generally get 3-3.5 points for home court, and both teams are fairly well-rested. The line indicates the Raptors would be favored slightly on neutral court, which seems accurate with Noah and Y2J sidelined. It will be interesting to see where the line lands Sunday when the Bulls visit Toronto, again with both sides well-rested.

Check out Joshua’s full preview here.

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