Gameday: Bulls @ Raptors, February 2

Prepping the Superbowl day game.

The Bulls are a bad team, and the Raptors are a good one. Not a ton more to say than that. Toronto will put its 10-game winning streak on the line, and it probably ain’t gonna be snapped, not today.

The Raptors will lose Powell indefinitely. That’s rough. He’s been an electric scorer, creator, and shooter off the bench. Toronto can plug Terence Davis into that role, to a certain extent, as he’s another shooter who doesn’t need a ton of space to launch up. Davis is a solid creator with the dribble, as well, though he is of course prone to rookie mistakes. Nick Nurse has trusted Pat McCaw more than Davis off the bench, though McCaw doesn’t offer nearly as much scoring threat as Davis. Perhaps the Powell injury will change which guard sees more run.

Elsewhere, Pascal Siakam is on a heater. He has established himself inside first, then moving out to stroke his jumper when defenses overplay his drives. He could score a whole lot of points today. Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry have been fantastic at picking their spots. Serge Ibaka has been unbelievable scoring both on the roll, in transition, and on the offensive glass. He has spaced out beyond the arc as a release valve, stroking triples when defenses pack the paint. His scoring has been as consistent as a sunrise when he starts. Expect a dominant game against the thing Bulls frontcourt.

GAME INFO

Tipoff: 3:00pm EST | TV: TSN | Radio: 590

RAPTORS UPDATES

Norman Powell (finger) and Dewan Hernandez (ankle) are out indefinitely, while Marc Gasol (hamstring) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle) are day-to-day.

PG: Kyle Lowry, Pat McCaw, Terence Davis
SG: Fred VanVleet, Matt Thomas, Malcolm Miller
SF: OG Anunoby, Oshae Brissett, Stanley Johnson
PF: Pascal Siakam
C: Serge Ibaka, Chris Boucher

Bulls UPDATES

Almost every player from the Bulls is on the injury report, either day-to-day or probable. The real injuries, though, are this: Lauri Markkanen (hip) is out for one month, Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) is day-to-day, Max Strus (knee), is out for the season, and Otto Porter Jr. (foot) and Kris Dunn (MCL) are out indefinitely.

PG: Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono
SG: Zach LaVine, Denzel Valentine, Adam Mokoka
SF: Chandler Hutchinson, Shaquille Harrison
PF: Thaddeus Young
C: Luke Kornet, Cristiano Felicio, Daniel Gafford

THE LINE

Toronto is +10.5, and the over-under is 217.