Really nice game. Good stuff.
 | TOR Raptors | 108 | Final Box Score | 84 | CHI Bulls |  |
 A | P. Siakam28 MIN, 19 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 7-15 FG, 1-5 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 22 +/- Second game in a row where the fouls early on bounced him from the game. This game is being compared to his last two, and it’s an obvious step down, but he was a huge part of pulling away in the third quarter. He’s doing a good job switching above the break on defense, and he’s eating up tons of defensive attention and passing well off of it. | |
 A+ | O. Anunoby26 MIN, 17 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 7-11 FG, 3-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 4 BLK, 1 TO, 25 +/- Easily one of the strongest games of his young career. Not only did he make good on all of his big opportunities in this one, he was fantastic in the muted parts of the game. Sharp on the back end of the defense, explosive cutting on the baseline, composed when taking open jumpers, and a brick wall denying Thaddeus Young at the rim. Sublime performance. | |
 A- | M. Gasol23 MIN, 5 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 26 +/- A much, much better game from him. He set the tone defensively with stout work around his own rim. The Bulls play an open and pacey brand of basketball and Gasol’s playmaking fit into this game like a glove. | |
 A- | K. Lowry34 MIN, 11 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 4-11 FG, 3-9 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 6 +/- It’s cool to see just how little he’s spending on ball early in the season, which is a credit to VanVleet. He’s been terrific as a shot-maker, and tonight was no different. He’s the master of the Raptors pace, and he’s still breathing fire from downtown. | |
 A | F. VanVleet31 MIN, 16 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 5-14 FG, 3-8 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 28 +/- A little ambitious trying to finish among the trees at times, but outside of that was fantastic. There’s very little drop off when he’s operating as the lead initiator compared to Lowry, and he’s a damn heat-pump from downtown. Shared the Lavine matchup at times and did a commendable job chasing him around screens. More good stuff from Freddy. | |
 B+ | N. Powell28 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 7 +/- Didn’t have the jumper tonight, but otherwise there’s no scuffs from this game. He was active on defense, and just like VanVleet, gave great chase around screens for the duration of this one. As far an 8th man goes, he’s providing really high level play. | |
 A+ | S. Ibaka21 MIN, 18 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 8-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 1-1 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, -4 +/- Similar to Gasol, he had a profound impact on how the Bulls players were operating on the inside. He was really aggressive as a dive man, and was an unstoppable force in the fourth quarter. He’s had super weird luck as far as plus-minus goes this season, but he’s easily been one of the Raptors five best players this year. | |
 A | M. Thomas20 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 18 +/- Hit a triple off a flare screen, and hung around on the baseline off of Siakam’s gravity to hit another. All you want from shooters is for them to find the soft spots and make their takes. | |
 B | T. Davis12 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- A really quiet game. He’s been huge in his minutes in recent games, but his proximity to the Johnson turnovers and the strange run the Bulls broke off at the end of the first/start of the second took him out of the game. Missed another dunk, but that’s okay! | |
 Inc | C. Boucher5 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Too small a sample to grade, but flashed that length and swatted White! | |
 Inc | M. Miller5 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Too small a sample. | |
 Inc | S. Johnson5 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/- Too small a sample? This is about as bad as it gets. Unforced turnovers, forced turnovers and an early yank out of the game. He didn’t look like he should see the floor at all. | |
 Inc | R. Hollis-Jefferson4 MIN, 1 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Too small a sample. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse If I had been Nurse I would’ve started Ibaka instead of Gasol, but he stuck with his usual starting line-up and it paid off big time. Good decision to pull Siakam early as well. No complaints from this one. Kept VanVleet’s minutes down, which was nice. | |
Things We Saw
- The Bulls broadcasting crew was tremendous. Insightful, and generous in how they talked about the Raptors. Usually the oppositions feed is a minefield, but I had a great time listening to how they were seeing the game.
- This was OG’s “big” game so far this year, but he’s been strong in every game without any hiccups. He made plays going downhill, was super dangerous as a cutter, and hit triples. He’s also picking up the oppositions top offensive option night in and night out. After the year from hell last year, this has been uber-impressive to start the year.
- Coby White didn’t have a great game by any means, but I really like what he’s brought to the Bulls. When the Bulls young core finally gels and takes that leap – which could be this year – I think White will be at the helm of their offense alongside Lavine.
