While Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton sit out another game (presumably catching a Nickleback concert while in Toronto) the Chicago Bulls will plan to continue the same form of domination they used against Orlando on Monday.
On Monday, the Bulls gave the Magic a sort of loss not many teams get the pleasure of experiencing. Limiting the Magic to only 59 points, it was the lowest total ever scored against the Bulls. I’m actually surprised I didn’t go on the internet the next day to see Dwight Howard requesting another trade already.
Today, the Bulls are going to try to mimic that victory against a less than dominant Toronto Raptors. Surprise, surprise, the Raptors are only 15-31 on the season and only 7-14 at home. For the Bulls, they have the most road victories at 19-6, and are on a five game road winning streak.
With no Rose playing, that means we can expect CJ Watson to start in his spot again. Off the bench will be none other than our spark plug of late, John Lucas III.
While providing big momentum boosts against playoff contenders such as Miami, Philly and Orlando, John Lucas III has shown he deserves a spot on this roster. He has averaged 14.5 points off the bench in the four games Derrick Rose has been hurt.
Alternatively, the Raptors had Jerryd Bayless starting in the spot of injured Jose Calderon and averaged nearly 22 points per game on 54% shooting over the five games. When Calderon came back, however, Bayless got hurt. So their “spark” will be a game time decision.
Of the Raptors’ last seven games, their opponents have scored over 100 points in five of those games. Without being too biased, this game should be a free feast. As long as the Bulls take the Raptors like a serious team and don’t slack off, I don’t see why this game wouldn’t be over at halftime.
If the Bulls play down to the level of competition, the Raptors could eek away with a huge upset. The Raptors have been scoring fairly well recently and the Bulls will have to be playing their delicious, as usual, lock down D to keep them in check.
Tonight’s game airs at 6:00pm central on WCIU from the Air Canada Centre.
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