 | TOR Raptors | 124 | Final Box Score | 101 | CHI Bulls |  |
 A+ | S. Ibaka28 MIN, 23 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 10-16 FG, 2-5 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 2 +/- The Raptors gave Siakam the night off tonight, and started the big look with Ibaka beside Gasol, and it looked extremely good. Serge was efficient offensively all night and looked very comfortable next to Gasol. | ||||||||
 A | D. Green19 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-5 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 10 +/- Just 19 minutes in this one for Danny Green, as the Raptors didn’t need him for more than that, but he did knock down a couple of threes and helped the offense roll tonight. | ||||||||
 A+ | M. Gasol29 MIN, 17 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 6-11 FG, 3-4 3FG, 2-4 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 25 +/- Excellent game from the big man, doing a little bit of everything and showing his outside game. Had some great assists and, although it was against the Bulls, showed the potential of the big lineup if the Raptors need to go to that look in the playoffs. | ||||||||
 A | K. Lowry28 MIN, 10 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST, 4 STL, 2-10 FG, 1-5 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 8 +/- Tough shooting night for Kyle, making just 2 of his 10 attempts, but he did everything else including tallying 4 steals. At this point in the season, having Kyle just put in his minutes to keep his rhythm going while staying healthy is all the Raptors really need from him. | ||||||||
 A+ | F. VanVleet33 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 9-15 FG, 3-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 30 +/- Ever since returning from injury Fred has been excellent, and tonight was no different. His confidence is sky-high and on a night when Kawhi and Pascal both sat out, he helped the offense roll even with Lowry’s shot being off. | ||||||||
 A | N. Powell29 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 6-11 FG, 3-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 10 +/- Again, as with everyone else, this was against the Bulls, but this was a very good game from Norm, with 15 points, and hitting three of his six attempts from downtown, and also contributing 4 rebounds and assists. | ||||||||
 A | J. Meeks29 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 13 +/- Meeks gave the Raptors good minutes tonight as he looks to establish himself as a trustworthy bench option heading into the playoffs, and he’s been good when called upon this season. Might yet secure himself some playoff minutes if he keeps playing like this when he gets the chance. | ||||||||
 A | J. Lin24 MIN, 12 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/- Lin really needed this one. Twelve efficient points, and he looked comfortable both running the offense and playing off Fred or Kyle. The opposition wasn’t playoff quality, but it’s still good to see him finding his touch a little bit and establishing some confidence. | ||||||||
 B+ | M. Miller11 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Quiet 11 minutes from Miller tonight, mostly in garbage time as the game was an early blowout. | ||||||||
 B+ | J. Loyd6 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- In six garbage time minutes Loyd managed a couple assists and drew a foul on a three-point attempt, and looked solid when he was out there. | ||||||||
 B+ | C. Boucher4 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Every time he’s in the game, you know he’s going to get at least one three-point attempt up and have at least one block, and Boucher didn’t disappoint in his short garbage time stint. | ||||||||
 A | Nick Nurse Business-like win for Nurse’s team, as he got rest for Siakam and still had his team ready to go, and the Ibaka/Gasol look was a nice experiment that paid off in this one, and might be something to keep an eye on for the playoffs. Got the job done cleanly, and kept the minutes comfortable, which is what you want from a game like this. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- The Bulls really aren’t good, and with LaVine, Carter, Markannen and Dunn out, they’re sorely lacking in NBA talent. Still, the opportunity to play down to an opponent was there tonight and the Raptors took control and made sure the game wasn’t close heading into the fourth quarter.
- The offense hummed in this one for Toronto. 47.4% from downtown, 34 assists on 46 buckets, and a lot of great creation for the Raptors who’ve looked great at that end of the floor recently. Marc Gasol seems to be getting ever more comfortable in the offense, and this bodes well for when the roster is whole.
- Five games left at this point, and four of them are against teams jockeying for position at the bottom of the Eastern playoff race. The next four games are meaningless for the Raptors, but critical for their opponents, and that should give the chance for some playoff tune-ups with the games that matter now just two weeks away.
- Siakam was dressed, but didn’t play. The team wanted to give him a rest game, but they had him dressed anyways in case he was needed, with the team already thin at the forward positions with Anunoby, Leonard and McCaw already out.
