No better way to stop a three-game losing streak than by facing off against one of the worst teams in basketball as the Toronto Raptors beat the struggling Chicago Bulls 122-83 on Saturday night.
Toronto has now scored 100-plus points in all 17 games this season and this was the second time they limited an opponent to less than 100 points.
The Raptors extended their win streak against the Bulls to six consecutive games and improved to 6-2 on the road as a result. Chicago was the first of five straight opponents that Toronto will play with a record under .500.
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At this point in the season last year, the Raptors were 11-6. Right now they are 13-4, so they’ve improved on the franchise high 59-win pace from a season ago.
Here are my takeaways from the Raptors’ win over the Bulls.
Green is money
Danny Green didn’t miss any of his seven shots from the field and was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Green has eight games this season where he’s recorded a three-point shot, a steal and block, which ranks him third in the NBA under that stat line. It was especially helpful on a night when the Raptors were without most of their wing depth. Green showed up and showed out to the tune of 17 points and a game-high plus-35.
Green is proving to be much more than a throw-in from the Leonard-DeRozan trade as he is establishing himself as a vital component of Toronto’s championship aspirations.
Depleted depth on the wing
Despite missing some key parts, the Raptors’ depth won them the game with all 13 players in uniform scoring.
Norman Powell has already been out for a while with a left shoulder subluxation, C.J. Miles was nursing a right abductor strain and OG Anunoby sprained his right wrist vs. the Boston Celtics on Friday. On top of that, Kawhi Leonard sat out for his scheduled rest.
The Raptors’ depth, more specifically their wing depth, was put to the test on Saturday night. Miles is expected back next week and Powell is recovering faster than expected, so the Raptors should get some relief soon.
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VanVleet starts at home
Because of the injury woes, Fred VanVleet got his first professional start in his home state of Illinois. VanVleet had a large contingent of family in attendance, including his mother and young daughter.
He put on a show for his family, leading all players in scoring with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field in just three quarters of work. VanVleet was shooting just 36 per cent from the field coming in, so it’s a good sign that he has started to get his stroke back.
Lowry suffers injury scare in garbage time
With the Raptors up 30 points and only 1:30 left in the third quarter, the worst potential scenario came to life: Kyle Lowry getting injured.
Lowry turned his left ankle taking an awkward step while closing out defensively. He hobbled off the court and went immediately down the tunnel until he had to lie down due to the pain. It’s the type of non-contact injury that could be a freak occurrence or could be due to overexposure from playing heavy minutes on back-to-back nights.
The point guard made his way back to the bench and was grimacing, but the fact that he was present is a good sign. Lowry played 29 minutes before the injury, a day after logging more than 43 minutes in the overtime loss to Boston.
With another back-to-back looming on Tuesday and Wednesday, Lowry’s status is worth keeping an eye on.
Back-to-Back
The Raptors improved to 4-0 on the second night of a back-to-back this season. Only one of those four games were with Leonard in the lineup as his load management program continues.
What’s next?
With an off-day Sunday, Toronto will practise on Monday ahead of their next road game against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
