O. Anunoby39 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 4-12 FG, 0-2 3FG, 5-7 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -12 +/- The NBA steals leader continued his dominance on the defensive side of the ball tonight, stripping the ball three times, doing a great job of closing out and making things difficult for the Bulls. He had a few wide-open looks that missed the mark, but by no means did he hurt his team on offense. OG has been one of the best defenders in the NBA this season, tonight was another great performance on that side of the ball. SI- S. Barnes 30 MIN, 5 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 2-9 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- When Alex Caruso arrived at the United Center this afternoon, he probably wasn’t ready to have his soul eaten. But with 1:05 left in the first half, that’s exactly what Scottie Barnes was hungry for. As Barnes turned the corner and leaped toward the cup, the sophomore point forward swatted Caruso off his hip like a fly, then crowned him and Vucevic in the process. Somewhere in the rafters of the building, Chuck Swirski could be heard shouting, “That was sick, bad, and ABSOLUTE.” SI- C. Koloko21 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 4 +/- Koloko ran aggressively to the rim tonight and rose to the challenge when he had to stay in front of Chicago’s perimeter ball handlers. However, it’s still such a raw product and it shows in the often rushed decision-making. ONE- G. Trent Jr.33 MIN, 19 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- Gary played well tonight. His shooting kept his team in the game down the stretch when Chicago was desperate to put up a run. Trent didn’t try to do much, something he often falls victim to when his team needs to score. He let his game come to him and it showed. ONE F. VanVleet34 MIN, 27 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 10-19 FG, 6-10 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -8 +/- With the Raptors best player in street clothes, FVV has made it clear that this team is in very capable hands. Picking up where he left off last night, Rockford’s finest put on a show in front of his family and friends in Illinois. At every opportunity, VanVleet pressured Chicago’s defense, set up his teammates for success and tried to force the issue in transition. A gem from Fred on this one. The only thing missing was the W. SI- C. Boucher15 MIN, 0 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/- It wasn’t Slim Duck’s night tonight, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. While his box score was nothing to write home about, Boucher battled for plenty of rebounds and loose balls with a tenacity that made you think the Raptors were in it at times when the Bulls were big. DO- O. Porter Jr. 17 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -14 +/- He wasn’t the guy who played significant minutes in the NBA Finals last year. Porter Jr. has been up and down so far this year and tonight was an example of the latter. si P. Achiuwa14 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 4-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -16 +/- Precious is getting much better at pushing the ball in transition off defensive rebounds. There were a few chances created by his appetite to do so tonight. He was active around the rim and made things difficult for the Bulls down low DO- D. Banton 10 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- It’s Danalo’s birthday today, and I really want to throw him a bone, but he just didn’t do much to help his team tonight. Some errant passes and bricks were a constant in his game Monday night. Enjoy your cake bro. C+ T. Young10 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- He played D and didn’t hurt his team while he was out there. si J. Hernangomez11 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/- Bo Cruz entered the game in the second quarter and gave his team some life when it needed it. Great bench minutes from him on this one. SI- M. Flynn06 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- 4-1-1 in 6 minutes of rubbish. si Nick Nurse Back to back is hard. It’s especially difficult when you’re playing against a team that saw your plans less than 24 hours ago. The Raps were a step slow in the rotation tonight, but it’s hard to pin that on Nurse. His team just didn’t have the juice they showed up with last night.
