You wouldn’t think the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls had anything in common based on Saturday’s 124-101 Raptors road win.
With the victory, Toronto got its 54th win of the season as the team continues on toward a critical and wildly anticipated playoff run. Chicago, meanwhile, dropped its 56th game thus far, following a truly forgettable season early in what appears to be a long rebuild.
But longtime fans will know that it doesn’t seem like too far back when the Raps were in the Bulls’ shoes, trotting out lineups of “who’s?” and playing for nothing except a lottery prayer. It’s crazy to think how far the Raptors have come. In two weeks they’ll be competing in their sixth straight playoffs, with very real aims of reaching their first-ever NBA Finals.
But until then, here was a matchup with a franchise occupying the opposite end of the spectrum.
Both teams were depleted. The Raptors were without Kawhi Leonard, OG Anunoby and Patrick McCaw, who, it was announced Saturday, will miss three weeks with a thumb injury. Pascal Siakam, the frontrunner for Most Improved Player who’s quickly become the Raptors’ third real star, dressed but never left the bench in a glorified rest day.
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Chicago, meanwhile, was left without nearly every significant player and potential building block for the game. Kris Dunn and Otto Porter Jr. were sidelined while rookie Wendell Carter Jr., Zach LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen have all been shut down for the season.
The Bulls were left fielding a glorified G-League team. Take veteran centre Robin Lopez out of the equation and the Raptors starting-five has seen more playoff games than the Bulls starters have played in the NBA, period.
If this game could be summed up in five words, it’d be: Can the playoffs start already?
With the post-season countdown on you’d like to see the Raps playing higher-calibre opponents and competing in playoff-type environments. That wasn’t the case on Saturday. Like, at all.
The Bulls came out of the game with energy and held a slim lead after the first quarter, but the Raptors were simply too much for Chicago to handle.
On the plus side, Toronto’s latest win provided an opportunity for the team to continue to fine tune, giving its bench players minutes and some valuable role players an opportunity to shine.
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Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell are two clear X-factors for the Raptors who can help swing games — especially when their shots are falling.
Starting in place of Leonard, VanVleet made his mark, going 9-15 from the floor, including three three-pointers, while adding four boards and six assists in 33 minutes of action.
ROCKFORD'S FINEST
23 Pts – 5 Ast – 4 Rebs pic.twitter.com/cixnMudQCB
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 31, 2019
Powell continues an encouraging run of ball that suggests he’ll have an important role off the bench come playoff time. He was an efficient 6-11 from the floor and 3-6 from beyond the arc, while providing the signature energy and force that’s defined his career thus far.
Powell slams home the alley-oop from VanVleet in the clip below, which also features a killer outlet pass from Marc Gasol. Gasol had a strong showing on Saturday, connecting on three of his four three-point attempts, while adding eight boards and six assists — showing off the passing ability that was one of the reasons the team traded Jonas Valanciunas for him at February’s trade deadline.
It goes without saying that this weak slate of games can be dangerous, and the Raptors have now wrapped up a three-game stretch that featured two games against this Chicago team and one vs. the last-place New York Knicks — all easy wins. A little too easy.
On Saturday, the Raptors didn’t play down to the Bulls’ level, and the starters mostly played with the kind of energy and purpose you’d hope from a team just two weeks away from the most crucial playoff run in franchise history.
But these kinds of games make it hard to build a real sense of momentum heading into the post-season.
Up next for Toronto to close out the season are games against Orlando, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Miami and Minnesota. Translation: From here on out, exactly zero of Toronto’s opponents currently have a record over .500.
Fortunately for the Raptors, looking to sharpen their blades in time for the playoffs, they should expect tougher competition than their opponents’ win-loss record suggests. The Hornets, Heat and Magic are all fighting for the eighth playoff seed in the East, while the Nets could be first-round foes within two weeks. The Timberwolves, Toronto’s final opponent of the regular season, are fresh off a win over the title-favourite Warriors.
As the regular season drudges on, Nick Nurse and the Raptors need to find themselves in competitive playoff-esque environments and situations. After all, they could use the reps. They’ve had minimal practice time down the stretch and continue to play mix-and-match lineups on a game-to-game basis and miraculously have still only put their full roster on the floor in a single game thus far.
It didn’t happen on Saturday, but with only five games remaining until the real season begins, hopefully the Raps are pushed and tested down the stretch. The clock is ticking.
