 | Bulls | 111 | Final Box Score | 108 | Raptors |  |
 C+ | P. Achiuwa29 MIN, 11 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4- FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -7 +/- He’s clearly our best rebounder and most athletic big, but it’s become increasingly frustrating to watch him play these last few games. I’m eagerly waiting for that chemistry between Precious and Freddie to finally form. He’s also been uncertain with the ball in his hands lately. | |
 B+ | O. Anunoby38 MIN, 22 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 8-17 FG, 4-8 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, +7 +/- OG is getting more comfortable with reading where the help is coming from, and he’s always had decent vision to take advantage of it. We’ve still yet to see some of that confident shot creation that caught our attention during preseason. | |
 B | S. Barnes39 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2- FT, 1 BLK, 6 TO, -10 +/- Unfortunately, Scottie has been robbed of a few assist to begin his career with the team missing countless open looks. Outside of the few inevitable rookie mistakes, he’s both calm and assertive – a refreshing combination for a rookie. | |
 A- | F. VanVleet43 MIN, 15 PTS, 6 REB, 17 AST, 2 STL, 6-13 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 8 TO, -8 +/- He attempted a few questionable shots and passes, but it’s difficult to find fault in someone who dropped a career high 17 assists. Fred was as steady as ever for a majority of the fourth. Can’t wait to see him with Pascal! | |
 C+ | G. Trent Jr.36 MIN, 18 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 7-15 FG, 4-9 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +1 +/- Name me a player that makes more off the dribble shots than he does wide open ones, at least the way Gary does. | |
 C | C. Boucher5 MIN, 3 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- It feels like the writing is on the wall for Boucher, or at least we’re trending toward that direction. He’s in Nick’s doghouse and isn’t bringing any of that infectious energy we’ve seen in the past. | |
 B | K. Birch19 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- There’s a budding synergy with Fred that might result in additional playing time should Precious struggle. He was solid off the bench on the offensive end but struggled on the glass. | |
 D | G. Dragic14 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 6- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +5 +/- First half Dragic was terrible. Second half Dragic wasn’t great. We’re now 0-2 since he got to rendezvous with Luka, probably exchanging team secrets. | |
 Inc | D. Banton5 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +4 +/- I understand it’s too early to be giving Dragic’s minutes to Banton but I’m excited to see what he looks like in standard backup minutes. Currently, he’s being used as a trap card that Nurse feels like randomly activating. | |
 C+ | S. Mykhailiuk13 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +3 +/- My infatuation with Svi might be over. I thought he could seriously challenge a streaky Gary, but now he just reminds me of how much I miss Yuta. He’s steady and all, but there’s a pop and confidence that’s been missing since preseason. | |
 B | Nick Nurse Nick was all in during this game, micromanaging possessions and desperately trying to manufacture points. I felt like he did what he could with the roster in place. He went to Banton when Dragic didn’t show up. Khem was feeling it and so he pulled Boucher early again. Svi didn’t see much time in the second half. He tried zone but didn’t stubbornly stay in it. At the end of the day, we just couldn’t produce in the half court in short clock scenarios the way the Bulls did. | |
Things We Saw
- There’s an unnerving trend of the team falling behind big only for them to exhaust so much energy in a comeback attempt.
- Pascal is missed. I appreciate him more than ever now.
- Like Norm, Trent plays better in the starting lineup. Unfortunately, we don’t have a reliable scoring option off the bench. This will hurt us more than the rebounding issues if we find ourselves playing meaningful basketball games in April.
