Well, it can’t look much worse than last night’s in OKC!
Game Info
Toronto Raptors (28-47) at Chicago Bulls (33-42) – 7:00 p.m. CT on Chicago Sports Network (TV) and670 The Score(Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
- Coby White
- Josh Giddey
- Kevin Huerter
- Matas Buzelis
- Nikola Vucevic
Toronto Raptors
- Immanuel Quickley
- Ja’Kobe Walter
- Jamison Battle
- Scottie Barnes
- Jakob Poeltl
Odds
Chicago comes into today’s game as 4.5-point favorites against Toronto atDraftKings Sportsbook.
What To Watch For
- So yea, last night sucked. It was a bit of a reality check for what was a really fun month. The Bulls laid a bit of an egg against a really, really good basketball team. One that even if they played their “A” game probably would have lost to. Having said that, I don’t think it’s necessarily an indictment on what Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Matas Buzelis have done over the last month or so. The Thunder are amazing. They’re deep, loaded with stars, and have been building this roster for quite some time. The Bulls have…three players we think are building blocks for the future. And none of those played particularly well last night. There’s still a long way to go in building up this roster, but I don’t think one game is going to change my opinion right now on what I think of Giddey, Coby and Buzelis long-term.
- Speaking of those three, how will they bounce back tonight? There’s no time to overthink. Last night was a disaster, and tonight is a quick turnaround and an opportunity to bounce back against a Raptors team that looks to be severely shorthanded. Will we see last night’s loss linger into tonight’s effort, or will they shake it off and take care of business against a team that they should? This season likely is what it is now. No matter what happens, the Bulls are likely destined for a 9 or 10 seed, so rooting for tank losses is kind of over. I’d love to see Giddey, Coby, and Buzelis bounce back with big efforts and beat a team that they should beat tonight on their home floor.
- Toronto will likely be without RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, and Gradey Dick in this one. That’s two starters in Barrett and Dick and a sixth-man in Agbaji. While the Bulls did play last night, they should still be relatively fresh. Matas Buzelis played 31 minutes last night, but no one else in the starting lineup played more than 28. The Bulls starters should be about as fresh as you can be on the second leg of a back-to-back. Hopefully they have some jump against a banged up Raptors squad.
Injury Report
Injury Report
Chicago Bulls
- Josh Giddey QUESTIONABLE (hip)
- Kevin Huerter QUESTIONABLE (thumb)
- Julian Phillips QUESTIONABLE (quad)
- Jalen Smith QUESTIONABLE (knee)
- Dalen Terry QUESTIONABLE (calf)
- Lonzo Ball DOUBTFUL (wrist)
- Tre Jones OUT (foot)
Toronto Raptors
- Jared Rhoden QUESTIONABLE (hand)
- RJ Barrett OUT (rest)
- Ochai Agbaji OUT (rest)
- Gradey Dick OUT (knee)
- Brandon Ingram OUT (ankle)
written by
Matt Rooney
Matt is from the Chicagoland area and has been working in Chicago sports since 2015 with stops at WGN Radio, the Chicago Blackhawks, Stadium, and NBC Sports Chicago prior to landing at Betsperts. Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts and Bleacher Nation but focuses on the NHL and college football.
