Gameday: Bulls @ Raptors, December 16

The Toronto Raptors are looking to snap a four-game losing streak as they host the Chicago Bulls on Monday.  

Both teams are coming off two days of rest, but while the Bulls are relatively healthy, the Raptors are still mired in the health issues that have plagued them all season.  

Jamison Battle is the latest victim. The two-way rookie sustained an ankle injury while on assignment with the Raptors 905 Friday after a hard fall in the third quarter against the Delaware Blue Coats.

While he hasn’t missed a game since early November, Bulls’ leading scorer Zach LaVine is listed as questionable on the injury report with back spasms.

The Raptors and Bulls both have bottom 10 defences, so scoring may come somewhat easily in this game (just check out the O/U below). Yet, how each team gets their buckets varies greatly.

The Bulls are an archetypal “modern” NBA offence, ranking last in mid-range shot attempts while taking the second-most 3-pointers (still over 7 attempts less per game than the Celtics) and a healthy amount of shots at the rim – eighth in restricted zone FGA, 11th in rim frequency on Cleaning the Glass.

The Raptors also take a ton of shots at the rim – they are first in restricted zone FGA and second in rim frequency – but the modernity stops there. Toronto ranks 29th in 3-point attempts and also takes its fair share of mid-range shots, albeit converting on a respectable amount of them. This is in part thanks to Gradey Dick and Ja’Kobe Walter’s prowess from that area of the floor.

Raptors Outlook: 7-19 | 14th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 111.7 (21st) | Def rating: 115.5 (23rd) | Net rating: -4.8 (24th) 

Raptors Previous Results 

vs Miami L 114-104 

vs New York L 113-108 

vs Dallas L 125-118 

vs Oklahoma City L 129-92 

vs Indiana W 122-111 

The Raptors 24th ranked halfcourt offence (92.7 points per 100 plays) goes up against the Bulls 28th ranked halfcourt defence (101.4 points per 100). It’s a stoppable force meets an easily movable object.

Now that the Raptors are back in the cozy confines of Scotiabank Arena, maybe we’ll see RJ Barrett finishing more like his usual self after an abysmal 5-of-18 night in Miami on Friday. The Raptors will need both his scoring ability and composure when operating as a primary initiator to put up enough points to win. Barrett has been one of the better pick n’ roll ball-handlers in the league this season, but he had six turnovers last game and has had some doozies lately.

If Star-J can get his own and make good passing reads, the Raptors will be in good shape. And Jakob Poeltl is always there to take the ball at the top of the floor and some of the pressure off Barrett if things get iffy. Between those two facilitating, the Raptors have enough quality play finishers around them in Dick, Walter, and Ocahi Agbaji to get the job done.

Toronto will also have to keep opposing ball-handlers like Coby White and Zach LaVine in front and be persistent in their help principles and rotations to limit Chicago’s above-average offence.

Bulls Outlook: 11-15 | 9th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 113.3 (12th) | Def rating: 116.4 (26th) | Net rating: -3.0 (19th) 

Bulls Previous Results 

vs Charlotte W 109-95 

vs Philadelphia L 108-100 

vs Indiana L 132-103 

vs San Antonio W 139-124 

vs Brooklyn W 128-102 

LaVine’s availability is a huge difference maker for the Bulls. They have lost all three games this season that they’ve been without the two-time All-Star. Beyond being their leading scorer, he also has the second highest on/off differential among players in the Bulls’ rotation (Matas Buzelis is first and has played significantly less minutes).

As a team that shoots a lot of 3s, Chicago’s offence heavily relies on both their ability to create good looks and shooting variance. They’ve won only three games this season where they’ve had a below average 3-point percentage.

On defence the Bulls allow the second highest frequency of shots at the rim and are also bottom-10 in opponent field goal percentage at said rim. Pair that with the Raptors propensity to get to the hoop and there should be plenty of easy baskets for the home side.

Game Info 

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET 

Television: TSN 

Radio: TSN Radio 1050 

Starting Lineups (Projected) 

Chicago Bulls  

PG: Coby White 

SG: Ayo Dosunmu  

SF: Zach Lavine

PF: Josh Giddey

C: Nikola Vucevic  

Toronto Raptors 

PG: RJ Barrett 

SG: Gradey Dick 

SF: Ja’Kobe Walter 

PF: Ochai Agbaji 

C: Jakob Poeltl 

Injury Report 

Bulls 

Lonzo Ball (Knee, injury management) – Probable

Zach LaVine (Back spasms) – Questionable

Dalen Terry (Knee) – Questionable 

E.J. Liddell (Knee) – Out

Raptors 

Jamison Battle (Ankle sprain, two-way) – Out

Scottie Barnes (Ankle sprain) – Out 

Immanuel Quickley (Partial UCL tear) – Out 

Bruce Brown Jr. (Knee, reconditioning) – Out 

Lines 

All Toronto Raptors odds are provided by NBA Betting Site Betway! 

Presented by Betway

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