Raptors Streak Past The Bulls

The Raptors came into this game sporting a 6-game winning streak and were playing in the second leg of a back-to-back after facing the Miami Heat in a tight contest the previous night. The Bulls are ending off their 4-game home-stand with the Raptors before the All-Star Break begins. The Raptors have an opportunity to make franchise history by going into the All-Star Break as the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto will play their next game on February 23, 2018 against the Milwaukee Bucks which gives them a long 9-day break for everyone except Lowry, DeRozan and the coaching staff who will also be in Los Angeles for the All-Star festivities.

The Raptors led by Kyle Lowry ran past the Bulls early and often in this game.

The Raptors started off the game well and were utilizing both Ibaka and Valanciunas more frequently on the offensive end. The two big men scored the Raptors’ first 12 points. The Bulls were making a concentrated effort to keep Lowry and DeRozan off the box score by doubling them on every pick and roll to get the ball out of their hands. DeRozan and Lowry were sharing the ball and making the right basketball decisions. The defensive pressure was not there early as the Raptors could not prevent Kris Dunn and Zach Lavine from going downhill off the pick and rolls. JV was caught in no man’s land on a couple possessions as the Raptors allowed the Bulls to rack up 33 points in the first quarter. Raptors went down early as they trailed by 6 after the first 12 minutes.

The Raptors responded in the second quarter with the Bench Mob. The Bench Mob quickly turned the deficit into a lead in a matter of minutes. The Bulls were flustered with the change of pace that the Bench Mob plays with. The bench started running as soon as they got the rebound and were scoring in transition. The ball movement was great. The guards were driving into the paint and kicking it out. Siakam was also creating opportunities for both the guards and his fellow big, Jakob Poeltl. Dwane Casey told the bench to apply defensive pressure on the Chicago guards as soon as they inbound the ball to push the pace as Chicago rushed into their offense and either turned the ball over or took a bad shot. Off every defensive stop, the Raptors shot out of the gate and were running in transition. The Raptors' two lineups play with a different type of energy and pace that teams often get blindsided by the change.

Jonas Valanciunas was decisive on the offensive end and a wall on defense as the Bulls felt JV's presence.

The starters came back in to close out the half. Serge Ibaka continued his hot start and was scoring in the lane and from the outside. JV was also benefiting from all the attention DeRozan and Lowry were drawing as he dove into the paint and finished in traffic. Dwane Casey went with Norman Powell with this lineup to make sure everyone gets playing time and kept the 11-man rotation going. Norman struggled shooting the ball from the outside and will need to work on that to stay on the court in crunch time. The defense was much better than the 1st quarter and weren't giving up anything easy. DeRozan struggled shooting the ball due to the double teams which prevented him from getting into a rhythm. But DeRozan did score on a gorgeous up-and-under move through two defenders to bank in the halftime buzzer beater. A cool and collected finish by the All-Star starter. The Raptors took over the game in that second quarter with a 34-16 advantage. The Raptors led the Bulls 61-49 at halftime.

The third quarter was Lowry's quarter. He was aggressive and attacked relentlessly. Lowry scored more than half his points in the third and was unstoppable. JV and Ibaka were blocking shots and prevented anything in the paint for the Bulls. The Raptors were quick, decisive and won the loose ball battles as they were determined to stop the Bulls on defense every possession. DeMar was held to 7 points in this game, but this was one of his better play-making games. He read the defense and found the other starters for high-percentage looks. The Bulls struggled to score and looked out of sync on offense. That 33-point first quarter felt like a dream a long time ago. Ibaka closed off the 3rd quarter with a block on Denzel Valentine's three-point attempt. Ibaka celebrated with his thumbs down celebration as the Raptors showed the Bulls why they are on top of the Eastern Conference with both their offense and defense. The Raptors took a 95-76 lead going into the fourth.

Kyle Lowry took over the third quarter as the Raptors never looked back as they routed the Bulls.

The starters did not play in the fourth quarter as the Bench Mob did their job superbly. They used their ball movement, quick rotations and fast pace to score and defend at a high level. The Bulls commentators had tons of praise for the Raptors bench who were playing selflessly and created open looks all game long. The Raptors ended the Bulls' misery early in this game. Fred Hoiberg decided to wave in the flag around the 4-minute mark of the fourth quarter and emptied out his bench. New acquisition Noah Vonleh from the Portland Trail Blazers was showing his potential against the Raptors, but Siakam and Poeltl were running circles around him on the other end. The Raptors ran out the clock and logged in their seventh straight win as they head into the All-Star break.

Toronto Raptors Chicago Bulls

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Player of the Game:

The floor general and the engine of the Toronto Raptors had his fingerprints all over this one.

Kyle Lowry

20 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, 5-10 shooting, 4-7 3PT, 6-6 FT

The Raptors floor general was once again excellent as he set the tone on defense and offense. Lowry was stellar on defense and did not gamble as much on the defensive end. He kept his opponent in front of him and made them shoot contested shots which led to the Bulls' poor shooting. He picked up a double-double with assists as he was finding Ibaka and JV early and often in this game. The shots were distributed well throughout the team as no starter had no more than 12 shots. Lowry was perfect from the line, made more than half of his threes and did not turn the ball over. Pretty much a perfect game if there ever was one. Lowry will be off to Los Angeles for All-Star festivities after this one as he joins his coaching staff and fellow All-Star partner, DeMar DeRozan, on team Stephen Curry in the All-Star Game.

Things to Take Away from this Game:

1. Sharing the Wealth

• The Raptors shared the ball all game long as they recorded a season-high 38 assists in this one. This is one stat that the coaching staff will probably frame and show the Raptors throughout the season. Everyone was unselfish and made the extra passes that led to great shots, not good shots. The All-Star backcourt combined for 18 assists and the Bench Mob guards combined for 10 assists. All four guards did their jobs great and played at a fast-pace.

2. Get the Bigs Touches

• The Raptors' starters sometimes fall in love with their perimeter shooting and forget that they have one of the better front courts in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls commentators even took notice of how little JV is utilized in some of the games. The Raptors played through JV and Ibaka a lot more in this game as they were scoring at will in the first quarter which got the Raptors off to a great start offensively. Maybe it was the double teams that they were sending to DeRozan and Lowry, but they made the right decisions to find the bigs as they were aggressive attacking the paint. They should look for them more often whenever they need a basket as they will not only get a good high-percentage shot, but can maybe get their own rebound or kick it out as well.

3. The OG

• The OG factor is an important factor to keen in on as he is the Raptors' primary defender on the opposing team's best player. His impact on defense was evident as Lavine went 5-17 on the evening, but his offense is struggling at the moment. OG's shots from the outside were wildly inconsistent with some going wide left, wide right and air balls. He seems to have hit the rookie wall, but will be able to bounce back if he hits a couple shots from the outside. His length and strength are a great asset and proves that he can be still be an impact and help the team even if his offense is sputtering. OG's free throw shooting needs a little more arc as his shots are more of a frozen rope that won't have any chances of getting the friendly roll. A couple things for the young kid to work on as an integral part of this team's success.

Pictures courtesy of: http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapsbulls-021418