Daily Bulls

The Chicago Bulls fall back to under .500 with a 113-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with team-high 20 points but had five turnovers. Nikola Vucevic had another double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Alex Caruso with a surprise stat line of four points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. Caruso did struggle from the field, going 1-for-11.

Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 30 points, including five made threes and 11 assists. Scottie Barnes added 19 points and ten rebounds. Rookie big man Christian Koloko had 11 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks. Toronto played without their star Pascal Siakam due to a groin injury.

4 Takeaways from Bulls loss

1. Dalen Terry provides spark

Let’s start with the positives before the negatives; Bulls rookie Dalen Terry got more playing time than usual, with Drummond, White, and Lavine being out against the Raptors. Before the matchup against Toronto, Terry got 12 minutes of action in the first ten games of the season, and against the Raptors, he finished the game with ten minutes of playing time. Within the first 30 seconds of playing, he scored his first NBA bucket. Terry finished the game with four points on 2-for-2 shooting, got one steal, and one block.

Dalen Terry might get the chance to have double-digit minutes with Coby White and Andre Drummond possibly out for the next couple of games. Once the Bulls get healthy, Terry will likely be out of the rotation. But he has proved why you can trust him on the court, and Bulls fans know now you can always count on Terry to bring hustle and energy. Terry was one of three players with a positive plus/minus stat. The other two players were Goran Dragic (+1) and Alex Caruso (+15).

2. Patrick Williams Aggressiveness

Over time, Patrick Williams has felt more comfortable in the game, and now in the past four games, he has become aggressive. That includes this matchup against the Raptors; he did struggle early on, getting blocked multiple times by Christian Koloko early in the game. Patrick Williams, in the first quarter, shot 1-for-8. But Williams did not stop being aggressive throughout the game.

Williams got a couple of vicious dunks in the second half and shot 3-for-6 from deep. He would finish the game by scoring 13 points and seven rebounds. Five of his seven rebounds were offensive rebounds. But he did shoot 5-for-16 from the field. With more playing time, Williams will learn and develop, but seeing Williams attack instead of passing is a great sign to see.

3. Bulls miss Andre Drummond

Without their backup big man, Andre Drummond, Chicago has allowed teams to score in the paint easily. When Vucevic left the game for rest, the Bulls went small with Derrick Jones Jr as the five. Jones at the five will work for some games, but not this game against the Raptors. Against the Raptors, the Bulls allowed 62 points in the paint and got outrebounded 52-46.

Late in the game, Toronto got clutch offensive rebounds to take command of the game. The Raptors finished the game with 27 second-chance points, with 11 coming during the fourth quarter. Chicago got stops, but poor rebounding execution led to the Raptors expanding their lead. The Bulls finished the game with 13 second-chance points. They could be a chance Billy Donavon will give Tony Bradley minutes instead of Derrick Jones Jr to give the Raptors a different look later today. Andre Drummond could have been the X Factor in this game, but he was probably back home on the couch watching this game.

4. Double-team Issues for DeMar DeRozan

With no Zach Lavine in the lineup, the Raptors chose to double-team DeMar DeRozan every possession he got the ball, which worked. DeRozan finished the game with five turnovers but one turnover late in the game, which led to an easy O.G. Onunoby. Whenever DeRozan got double-teamed, the Bulls did not respond quickly on some possessions. That also led to others needing to score.

Toronto forced other starters to shoot the ball, especially Alex Caruso, who went 1-for-11 from the field. Other starters scored in double-digits, but the double-teams were a huge factor in the Raptors forcing 17 turnovers. Those 17 turnovers led to 23 points for the Raptors. DeRozan and Vucevic combined for nine turnovers in the game.

Up Next

Both teams will play later tonight at the United Center in Chicago.

Follow us on Twitter!!!!

Check out other Posts!!