Monday makes for an interesting bit of psychological gymnastics: If a team gets a monkey off its back, but that monkey only has one leg and the hamstring in said leg is strained, did the team still get the monkey of its back?
In other words, would the Toronto Raptors beating a woefully shorthanded Chicago Bulls team matter at all? It probably doesn’t matter to the team, who aren’t publicly putting much stock in their eight-game losing streak to the Bulls anyway. It probably won’t matter to fans, either, some of who are terrified of a potential 2-7 playoff matchup against Chicago, even though Chicago isn’t a terrible draw on paper.
Lose, and the perceived issues (and maybe a psychological block) against the Bulls grows worse. Win, and they did so against a banged-up team they had no business losing too, anyway. It’s a no-win, except for the fact that a win would make the bulls landing the seven-seed a little less likely. As I wrote in the game preview: “Ironically, losing to the Bulls would increase the psychological hurdle while making the matchup more likely, while beating the Bulls and getting the monkey off their back would render the potential relevance of said monkey almost null.”
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Sportsnet One.
Bulls updates
Pau Gasol (knee) didn’t travel with the team
Cameron Bairstow (back) hasn’t had his status updated
Joakim Noah (shoulder) remains out
Mike Dunleavy (flu) is out
Derrick Rose (groin) is out
Jimmy Butler (knee) will play
What a mess, right? But Butler’s playing, and you may recall that the last time he was at the Air Canada Centre, he tried to burn it to the ground. And the Bulls were without Butler the last time the two sides met and Chicago still came out ahead. So…nothing’s given. Ever. If that wasn’t clear already.
What’s left of the Bulls rotation will look something like this:
PG: E’Twaun Moore, Aaron Brooks
SG: Justin Holiday, Tony Snell
SF: Butler, Doug McDermott
PF: Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio
C: Taj Gibson, (Bairstow)
It’s unclear what starting lineup Fred Hoiberg may roll with, but consider all positions loosely defined given the rash of injuries.
By the way, the Bulls are 5-1 this year when Butler plays and Rose sits, for whatever that’s worth to you. (Nothing. It should be worth nothing to you.)
Raptors updates
The Raptors recalled Lucas Nogueira, Delon Wright, and Bruno Caboclo following Monday’s noon D-League game. DeMarre Carroll (knee) remains out, and as far as we know, nobody is sitting out. The guess here is that Butler’s presence means James Johnson will start instead of Norman Powell, as head coach Dwane Casey seems to prefer Johnson against larger wing scorers. The position remains fluid until Carroll returns, and it seems Powell will start against those who work off the ball a lot or are a bit more slender, while Johnson draws more ball-oriented or bulkier wings.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Wright
SG: DeMar DeRozan, T.J. Ross, Powell
SF: Johnson, Caboclo
PF: Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, Jason Thompson
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo, Nogueira
Carroll update
Carroll, by the way, is targeting a late-March return, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. He could be back in two weeks, but, say, a March 28 return (at home against OKC) would give him 10 games to knock the rust off (eight if he sits back-to-backs).
So hey, that’s good!
The line
The Raptors are nine-point favorites, and given the history with Chicago, there’s no chance I’d take them giving that many points. Just…nope. I think they’ll win, but there’s no way I’m picking them to win by double-digits, even against the hollowed out carcass of the Bulls. The over-under has climbed from 205 to 207. I really have no idea what to expect from this one. Shrug.
Raptors 103, Bulls 98
