NEWSLETTER
Three in a row, please and thank you.
Broadcast Info
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors – 6:30 p.m. CT, NBC Sports Chicago, 670 The Score (audio)
Chicago Bulls
Projected Starters:
1. Tomas Satoransky
2. Patrick Williams
3. Zach LaVine
4. Thaddeus Young
5. Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report: Garrett Temple OUT (hamstring)
Toronto Tampa Bay Raptors
Projected Starters:
1. Gary Trent Jr.
2. Malachi Flynn
3. OG Anunoby
4. Pascal Siakam
5. Chris Boucher
Injury Report: Kyle Lowry OUT (foot), Fred VanVleet OUT (hip), Deandre’ Bembry OUT (suspension), Rodney Hood OUT (hip), Jalen Harris OUT (hip), Patrick McCaw OUT (knee), Paul Watson OUT (NBA Protocol)
What to Watch For …
• The Raptors are literally one turned ankle away from not being able to play this game. Thanks to a number of untimely injuries and a suspension, the team is down to just eight active players tonight, which is the NBA’s bare minimum to hold an actual game. In the middle of all those injuries sit arguably the team’s two best players in Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Both are massive absences for a Raptors team that is trying to gain ground on the Bulls for the final postseason slot. They, fortunately, still have starters Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, two players that could give the Bulls some problems. If the Chicago squad we saw show up over the last several games is in Tampa tonight, though, then they should be too much for just those two to handle.
• After a blowout victory over the Indiana Pacers, there is no reason Chicago shouldn’t come out ready to punch the Raptors in the mouth. If this team has really turned the competitive tide we’re hoping for, then we should see them play with a sense of urgency from the jump. After all, on the front end of a back-to-back with Trae Young on the schedule tomorrow, the more rest starters get tonight the better.
• Coby White and Lauri Markkanen combined for 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Bulls last matchup with the Pacers. The performance was easily the most comfortable each player looked in their new role off the bench, so it’ll be interesting to see if we get a similarly positive showing tonight.
• Daniel Theis is back in action! Head coach Billy Donovan basically held his rotation to just eight players against the Pacers with a brief sprinkle of Denzel Valentine. My assumption is that he will now extend things to nine with Theis back in the mix, but that will still result in someone receiving fewer minutes … and I’m curious to see who that someone will be.
• More in here …
Another Shorthanded Opponent, All Wins Are Good Wins, Keeping Theis Around, and Other Bulls Bulletshttps://t.co/afYH6KK77M
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 8, 2021
Get Caught Up …
LIVE: Head Coach Billy Donovan’s media availability prior to tonight’s game against the Raptors https://t.co/1iqOdd4IRF
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 8, 2021
Watch and Read: Troy Brown Jr. Pulls Back the Curtain, Reflects on Being Tradedhttps://t.co/lcgyiIkz30
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 8, 2021
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 8, 2021
