Bulls hang tough but can't finish off Raptors |
TORONTO - As we move to the final 20 games of the NBA season, the Chicago Bulls (28-34) are on the outside looking in, but not by much. After winning a pair of games after the all-star break, the Bulls have moved within .5 games of the final playoff spot and had a chance to move into the playoffs on Tuesday with a win against the Toronto Raptors (21-32).
Prior to their game, it was announced that the Bulls would be parting ways with veteran guard Goran Dragic, freeing up a roster spot. What they do with that roster spot is the question, but expect the Bulls to address it sooner or later. With Patrick Beverley coming and bringing a certain toughness that this team has needed, the Bulls have looked very good after the break and have played arguably their two best games of the season. The defense is what stands out the most, but when you look across the NBA, the Chicago Bulls have been the best defensive team in the NBA for the month of February. That is hard to fathom when you consider they have nothing to show for it, but that is just how inconsistent they have been all season. It was the defense paving the way again on Tuesday, but as always, the lack of consistent scoring did them in as the Bulls let one get away 104-98. This was one of those games where the Bulls big three struggled to get things going apart from the big man Nikola Vucevic. The double-double machine has been solid this season, and when the offense goes through him, the team tends to play better. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case tonight, as he led the Bulls with 23 points, but didn't get much help across the board. When you talk about Zach Lavine and Demar DeRozan, you tend to have one of those guys drop 30 on a nightly basis. Not only was that not the case Tuesday, but the two combined for just 30 points, with Lavine coming away with 17 and DeRozan 13. That is not going to get it done, and it was up to the rest of the Bulls roster to make things happen. Ayo Dosunmu was the only other player to land in double figures as he led the Bulls second unit with 10 points. You also had eight coming from Beverley, six from Alex Caruso, and eight from Patrick Williams as the Bulls offense struggled to get in a groove. Despite those struggles, the Bulls still managed to keep things close throughout and held the lead going into the fourth quarter. That was until the Raptors went with a bigger lineup that saw Billy Donovan fail to adjust, and Toronto put things away in the closing minutes. It wasn't all that long ago when the Raptors were the class of the Eastern Conference and came away as NBA champions. Those days are long gone, as this roster has undergone a significant facelift in the years since. Nick Nurse deserves a ton of credit for taking the punches thrown his way and continuing to put his team in playoff contention as they are closing in on a top-eight seed. One of the last holdovers from that championship team is Pascal Siakam, who continues to play the best ball of his career. Siakam led Toronto with 20 points and does all the little things opposing coaches hate. Along with Siakam, the Raptors saw four other players land in double figures, including Gary Trent Jr, who continued his excellent play against the Bulls. Known to be a streaky shooter, Trent Jr has saved some of his best performances against the Bulls and led the Raptors bench with 19 points off five triples. Getting back to the starting lineup, you have the other hold over Fred VanVleet, who has been playing well in his own right. However, with Beverley now in the mix, life has become miserable for PGs, and VanVleet was next in line as he finished with three points. That put more pressure on the rest of the Raptors lineup to pick up the slack, which they did with OG Anunoby having a solid showing. Anunoby added 17 points to go with eight rebounds as he continues to be one of the more improved players in the league this season. Toronto also received 14 points from Jakob Poeltl and 11 from Scottie Barnes as their defense managed to outplay the Bulls down the stretch for the win. Chicago will look to get back on track Wednesday as they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons.
