The Toronto Raptors have blown two games in a row. They’ve dropped 10 of 14 overall. They’re 10-15 since their 22-8 start. They’re 1-9 in games that go into clutch scenarios over their last 15 total games, and they’ve been outscored heavily in those stints. They are blowing winnable games, coughing up leads, digging themselves early holes, failing to put 48 minutes together, and generally playing the worst basketball we’ve seen from this team since April and May of 2015.
You know all of this already. It’s bad, and the team is conceding concern, talking openly about the need for help or the need for change or the need to simply, somehow, just be better. And so of course, they visit the Chicago Bulls next, the one team that no matter how shaky or thinned out or downright bad they’re playing will always, always beat the Raptors. The Bulls have been blown out in three consecutive games, are dealing with four key injuries, and may be in just as bad a place as the Raptors, only lower in the standings.
Naturally, the Bulls are huge favorites (psychologically, if not actually) to right their ship against Toronto. Need a reminder why? Have a look, but have some ambient music or a yoga mat nearby for decompression afterward.
- Feb. 19, 2014: 94-92 home loss; trailed all game, cut lead to one late, DeRozan blocked by Butler on final possession.
- Nov. 13, 2014: 100-93 home loss; led for 20 minutes early, outscored 35-14 in third quarter.
- Dec. 22, 2014: 129-120 road loss; went six-plus minutes scoreless, gave up 49 in fourth quarter.
- March 20, 2015: 108-92 road loss; pretty thorough bell-to-bell beating, as Bulls led for 40 minutes.
- March 25, 2015: 116-103 home loss; led for 39 minutes, outscored 39-21 in fourth quarter.
- Dec. 28, 2015: 104-97 road loss; squandered Scola scoring 12 in the first when Snell scored 16 in the fourth.
- Jan. 3, 2016: 115-113 home loss; The Jimmy Butler Second Half Game.
- Feb. 19, 2016: 116-106 road loss; Valanciunas goes 11-and-6 in first, then McDermott drops 30 and Bulls take second half 64-48.
- March 14, 2016: 109-107 home loss; McDermott drops 29 again, Raptors don’t lead over final 47 minutes, DeRozan blocked by Butler on final possession.
- Jan. 7, 2017: 123-118 OT road loss; Butler scores 32 over second half and overtime as Raptors blow 13-point lead in final seven-plus minutes of regulation.
There was also The VaLINtine’s Day Game the last time the Raptors played on Feb. 14, and if you don’t think Denzel Valentine is going to spin pun-headline gold here, you don’t know these two teams.
The game tops off at 8 on TSN 2 and TSN 1050.
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To help set the stage for the game, we reached out to Sean Highkin of The Athletic Chicago, who kindly helped us out.
Blake Murphy: It’s hard to tell which team is in a worse place right now, the Raptors or the Bulls. If nothing else, though, as the Bulls’ tailspin continues, the “RAPTORS” light has just turned back on in the cabin. With a completely stoppable force and a very movable object coming head-to-head, fortune has to favor the weird voodoo the Bulls have over the Raptors, yes?
Sean Highkin: I would think so, but the Bulls have gotten blown out in three consecutive games to end their six-game road trip. It would be the most Bulls thing ever to go into the All-Star break with wins over the Raptors and the Celtics after that forgettable stretch. But I’ve given up trying to predict what they’re going to do.
Blake Murphy: In historical terms, Jimmy Butler is the Raptors’ father. He sat Sunday with a heel issue, though, and would seem questionable for Tuesday’s game. If Butler can’t go, who stands to be tasked with the challenge of guarding DeMar DeRozan?
Sean Highkin: I guess Michael Carter-Williams? Paul Zipser if he’s healthy? There aren’t a ton of options. It could get ugly.
Blake Murphy: Dwyane Wade, Nikola Mirotic, and Paul Zipser are all dealing with injuries (or illnesses) of varying severity. Depth isn’t exactly the Bulls’ strong suit, but assuming they’re thinned out and need to lean on him, what has Denzel Valentine been able to show in limited action? Is he a candidate to be the “random Bull that goes off against the Raptors” here?
Sean Highkin: Nobody is ever a bad candidate to be the “random Bull that goes off against the Raptors.” With that said, Valentine hasn’t been very good in the few opportunities he’s gotten. Outside of a breakout game against the Wizards last month, he hasn’t shot the ball consistently and doesn’t have the athleticism to stay in front of most guards defensively. The one skill of his that’s translated to the NBA level is playmaking, and that’s something the Bulls have no shortage of options for.
Blake Murphy: Bobby Portis has barely played for weeks, then suddenly comes in and scores a season-high 16 points in 31 minutes Sunday. Obviously, he’s not Fred Hoiberg’s favorite right now, but is there still hope he becomes a productive rotation big on a good team? It seems too early to write him off or downgrade his potential NBA role.
Sean Highkin: Portis is a guy a lot of people were high on after the draft, and he showed some signs his rookie year, but he’s taken a big step back this season, or at least hasn’t developed the way many in the organization anticipated. Sunday was probably his best game of the year, but he’s still got a ways to go. His defense is a train wreck and he has potential to be a stretch four, but the consistency and decision-making aren’t there yet.
Blake Murphy: Raptors fans will be mad at me if I don’t at least ask – Is there any chance the Bulls are open to moving Taj Gibson? The Raptors apparently had a deal for Gibson in the offseason (something like Gibson and Tony Snell for Terrence Ross, if I recall correctly) until Dwyane Wade opted to head to Chicago, so the two sides are familiar. Is there a Gibson-to-Raptors deal you see that makes sense both ways? Because I can’t really find one.
Sean Highkin: I think there’s a decently good chance they move Taj at the deadline, considering he’ll be 32 this summer and doesn’t make a lot of sense to re-sign at the price he’s going to command. The tricky part is, they’re still trying to make the playoffs, so they’re not going to give him away for absolutely nothing. A deal I’ve been thinking about lately that would make a ton of sense for both the Bulls and the Raptors would be Gibson for Jared Sullinger’s $6 million expiring contract (as salary filler) and one of the Raptors’ two first-rounders (either their own or the Clippers’ pick they own). It would be worth it to the Bulls to get a first-rounder back, and the Raptors get a significant short-term upgrade at power forward while still keeping one of their picks. I don’t see a lot of downside in that deal for either side.
Blake Murphy: I’d do that in a heartbeat.
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Raptors updates
Patrick Patterson got a good practice session in on Saturday but then sat Sunday following a game-time decision tag. He practiced in full on Monday, but that would seem to tell us little – the Raptors could reasonably just sit Patterson for the final pre-break two games, getting him a total of 10 days more rest before their next action. They need him back, though, as he helps stabilize the defense and the rotations, and it would probably be a nice psychological shot in the arm. But it could go either way at this point. I wouldn’t fault the Raptors for just keeping him out to insure he’s all the way right, or for getting him back in there since he seems healthy.
Who knows what the plan would be at the four if he can’t go. Jakob Poeltl looked good in that spot on Sunday, but he’s not necessarily a logical fit across from Taj Gibson, given the physicality. That might give Jared Sullinger or Pascal Siakam the edge, and the Raptors could probably even afford to go small. All these different options every night? This is part of what Patterson’s return will help with – not just his play, but the role certainty it will help re-establish. No, a role player shouldn’t be that important, but there are trickle-down effects everywhere right now. The Raptors literally didn’t play a natural power forward on Sunday. They have a ton of issues right now, and that’s definitely among them.
Bruno Caboclo was sent back down to Raptors 905 for Tuesday’s home game, by the way.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: (Patrick Patterson), Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jared Sullinger
TBD: Patrick Patterson
ASSIGNED: Bruno Caboclo
OUT: None
Bulls updates
The Bulls could be seriously shorthanded for this one, which simply means there will be more opportunity for weirder and weirder Bulls to go off. Dwyane Wade is dealing with a right wrist injury and is being considered doubtful, which would probably open the door for Michael Carter-Williams to start at the two. A position over, Jimmy Butler is dealing with a heel issue, something he practiced through Monday but that cost him Sunday’s game. If the Bulls play it cautious, Doug McDermott is liable to go for 50 in his stead. The very impressive Paul Zipser may, too, except that he’s dealing with an ankle injury and food poisoning and is considered doubtful here. And just for good measure, Nikola Mirotic didn’t even practice Monday due to a back issue and can probably be considered doubtful.
So, what will the Bulls rotation look like? Who knows. If none of the players in question can go, they’ll be thinned out, giving a lot of minutes to youngsters and likely staying big throughout. That makes for a fun game, and a window for the Raptors to win, but I literally can’t bring myself to expect a Raptors win given the opening bullet list above. I’m not even mad. It’s just amazing at this point.
PG: Jerian Grant, Michael Carter-Williams, Rajon Rondo
SG: (Dwyane Wade), Denzel Valentine, Isaiah Canaan
SF: (Jimmy Butler), Doug McDermott, (Paul Zipser)
PF: Taj Gibson, (Nikola Mirotic), Bobby Portis
C: Robin Lopez, Cristiano Felicio
Assigned: None
TBD: Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Paul Zipser, Nikola Mirotic
Out:
The line
The Raptors are 7-point favorites as of this writing, up from an opening line of Raptors -5, so apparently the faith of oddsmakers isn’t as shaken as mine is given the Bulls’ voodoo. Realistically, if the Bulls are down four rotation players, the Raptors have to be favorites. But is there any Raptor fan confident in calling this a victory? The over-under is at 205.5. Check back before tip-off for an updated line based on injury updates.
