Just a few days after the Toronto Raptors turned in a weak performance at the United Center, they get their chance at a quick redemption as the Chicago Bulls visit the ACC on Sunday.
The game tips off at 3:30 p.m. on TSN and should look quite similar to Monday’s, which saw the Bulls’ bench embarrass the Raptors’ reserves. In the time since, the Raptors have found a bit of a footing, winning an ugly one against Washington and then vanquishing a “nemesis” in the Charlotte Hornets. The Bulls in recent years have provided a similar issue to the Hornets – chalk them both up to The Curse of Beating Jordan in The 72-10 Season – and the Raptors would build themselves some appreciable momentum with another win Sunday.
With a back-to-back looming in Cleveland on Monday, getting a win here would obviously be great. The Bulls have won three straight, but…
Derrick Rose is out
Derrick Rose was considered questionable for the game due to a right hamstring issue. He was expected to travel with the team but will sit out Sunday and is set for an MRI on Monday.
The Bulls have hung in just fine without Rose, turning point guard duties over to Aaron Brooks, E’Twuan Moore, and Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich will start and should give Kyle Lowry a challenge at one end of the floor, while Brooks will provide instant offense and a challenge at the other end off the bench. Moore has been solid in spot minutes, too, and closed out Friday’s game for Chicago.
Rose still changes the game for a defense but he hasn’t come nearly all the way back to his pre-injury levels, and the Bulls are 7.9 points per-100 possessions (PPC) better him him on the bench. The way he puts pressure on a defense still needs to be respected, even if his efficiency has waned, and he’s still averaging 14.4 points and 5.1 assists. He dropped 20 on the Raptors on Monday.
The Bulls are also without Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy, so their rotation will look something like this:
PG: Hinrich, Brooks, Moore
SG: Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell
SF: Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott
PF: Taj Gibson, Cameron Bairstow
C: Pau Gasol, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio
Freed Bobby Portis
If Portis goes off again – he scored 12 points with nine boards and two dimes on Monday, owning Patrick Patterson in the post and getting Kyle Lowry hit with a flop warning – Raptors fans may riot. Remember, the Raptors passed on Portis at No. 20 to draft Delon Wright and never even showed much of an interest in Portis, who seemed a fairly can’t-miss prospect as at least a rotation big. Since Noah went down hurt for the Bulls seven games ago, Portis is averaging 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. Wright, meanwhile, has played 17 minutes, though he’s been mostly great in the D-League.
It’s enough of a talking point that Michael Holian has written about the decision twice (one, two), and I had to get some thoughts out about Portis after Monday’s game.
But this is hardly worth hand-wringing about. Here’s the important part of what I wrote (read the whole thing though, because I nailed it):
If you personally think that was Portis, then seeing him succeed can rightfully sting. Again, I found myself watching Portis and thinking “what if.”
But after five good games, though, there’s no reasonable way to decry passing on him for Wright to be a mistake or a failure, or to call Wright a bust. Until 10 days ago, Portis had only totaled 26 minutes over four appearances, not dissimilar from Wright’s 17 minutes in five appearances so far. It’s two months into two rookie seasons, and Wright himself remains a viable NBA prospect who just hasn’t gotten the opportunity Portis has, one who’s shown he’s at the very least too advanced for the D-League at this stage. This might be a decision we can’t really evaluate until Wright gets a similar chance (or alternatively, if he doesn’t get that chance over a longer stretch of time).
You will be forgiven for losing sight of this when Portis goes 20-and-10 on Sunday, however.
Raptors recall everyone
The Raptors recalled Delon Wright, Bruno Caboclo, and Lucas Nogueira from the D-League for the game, so they’ll have a full squad on their hands once again. DeMarre Carroll remains on a minutes restriction for the time being and has admitted to not yet feeling like himself, and Anthony Bennett is dealing with a sore back, but for the most part the Raptors are good to go. Their rotation will 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
DeRozan sons Butler
Last season, Butler was able to shut DeRozan down in two meetings. DeRozan went off against the Bulls in a meeting Butler sat (the Raptors still lost), and so Monday was a nice test considering how well DeRozan’s been playing of late.
He passed with flying colors, scoring 19 points and dishing nine dimes, attacking Butler in a variety of ways, getting switches on to bigs freely, and using the extra attention he was drawing to create for others. It was a pretty masterful performance, even if he lost his 20-point game streak in the process. You can read more about his game here.
The Raptors still lost, of course, because they’ve dropped six straight against Chicago. NEMESIS!
The Line
The Raptors opened as 3.5-point favorites and the line bumped to Raptors -4 by early afternoon. With a 3-to-4 point edge given to home teams, the line is indicative of the Raptors being of roughly equal talent to the Bulls (less Noah and Dunleavy and with a banged-up Rose). The Raptors were 1.5-point underdogs in Chicago.
Check out the full game preview here.
