The Toronto Raptors woes against the Chicago Bulls continued as they dropped their second straight game 106-116. The Raptors put up 35 points in the first quarter, but were shut-down and outscored by 92-71 the rest of the game. Derrick Rose showed his MVP type prowess scoring 26 points, while Doug McDermott was 4-5 from downtown to provide a scoring boost off the bench.
Post Game Report Card:
Offense: B+
106 points is nothing to be ashamed of, but given 35 came in the first quarter means that the Raptors sputtered the rest of the way. DeMar DeRozan shot 6-21 from the field and the usual 3-point threat was not there as we were held under 30% from downtown. The one eye-catching offensive performance tonight was from Jonas Valanciunas as he dropped 25 points and bullied the veteran Pau Gasol in the post.
Defense: D
The All-Star type defense seemed to rub off on the Raptors as they allowed a whopping 116 points. The Bulls like to pummel you on screens and the Raptors were getting worn out by their physical play. The bigs weren’t that great either and the whole team was slow on rotations, which allowed the Bulls to shoot over 40% from downtown.
Rebounding: B
Perhaps the rebounding would have been better if the defense presented more opportunities to grab defensive boards. It was an average night on the glass for the Raptors. No domination from Bismack Biyombo and no lapses on the defensive side either. Just poor defense overall that led to the Raptors demise in this one.
Game Ball: Doug McDermott
Mcbuckets was incredible. When he wasn’t left completely open he was aggressive in finding a lane and attacking it. He ended up with 30 points on the night, but give him credit for stepping up when his team needed him to.
