Tonight, your Chicago Bulls take on the Toronto Raptors. Back in the days of half-man, half-amazing Vince Carter, I would be unbelievably hyped about this game. Now, I'm excited to see a mix-matched bunch of great athletes who can kind of play basketball.
Derrick Rose out tonight?
There's a very good chance Derrick Rose doesn't play tonight. I've seen people speculate on Twitter that he definitely won't play, but I'm not sure of that.
If he doesn't play, be prepared for an ugly offense tonight. The Bulls look very stagnant, and they often work the shot-clock to under 8 seconds, often settling for bad shots when Rose isn't on the court. Toronto is only allowing 94.9 points per game, good for 5th in the NBA, so Bulls fans should be worried about a sneaky loss tonight.
Know thy Opponent:
Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay has always been a prolific chucker, and this season is no different. Gay's taking 19 shots again, shooting just 36.5% from the floor and averaging 19.7 points per game. At least gay is playing decent defense and averaging 7 boards per game, while also chipping in with 2 steals.
As a Bulls fan, you want the opposing team's best scorer to be a wing. Look for Luol to shut him down. Gay will get his 20 points, but he may shoot under 30% with the defensive presence of Luol Deng. With Gay unable to score (but still attempting to score), expect the Raptors offense to become stagnant and uninterested.
DeMar DeRozan: Rudy Gay Part 2
DeMar DeRozan has a great name and gets paid a lot of money, as he just started his 4 year, $38 million contract extension. Unfortunately for Raptors fans, he's essentially the same player as Rudy Gay. DeRozan is a high volume, inefficient scorer who is also poor at three pointers (shooting just 30% this year) and likes to isolate to score. DeRozan is accounting for 18 points per game on 37.7% shooting, but he doesn't do much else.
Jimmy Butler, though he refuses to stop pump faking, should be able to hold DeRozan to another poor night of shooting. Gay and DeRozan are basically the only real scorers on the Raptors, so if the Bulls are able to shut them down, then it will be a competitive game.
Tonight will be a close game, and I'm not feeling great about the Bulls' odds of winning. With the Raptors allowing just 94.9 points per game, and the Bulls potentially missing Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer will need to step it up offensively. Raptors' power forward Amir Johnson is a hardhat and lunch pal kinda guy, but he won't be able to stop Boozer's vast array of post moves.
Defensively, the Bulls match up incredible well against the Raptors, especially because Raptors' point guard Kyle Lowry has struggled mightily this year. Plus, Kirk Hinrich is a tenacious defender, and he will do his best to stop Lowry from making plays.
The Raptors' "best" bench player is probably Tyler Hansbrough. Yes, that's a real statement.
Poor three point shooting, a weak offense sans wing players, and few offensive options off the bench characterize the Raptors this season.
While I simply do not feel good about the game, I'm picking the Bulls to win.
Bulls 89 Raptors 82
It's Friday, so you should spend the afternoon reading:
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