Quick Reaction: Bulls 92, Raptors 135

Chicago Bulls

92 – 135

Toronto Raptors

C	Kawhi Leonard 24 MIN, 23 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 4 STL, 5-17 FG, 2-6 3FG, 11-11 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/- I still can’t believe Leonard is a Raptor again and I also can’t believe he had 23 points tonight. He splashed his first jumper of the night early, hitting an above-the-break triple. After that he went uncharacteristically cold, he missed midrange jumpers, and even missed a few shots at the rim you’d expect him to make. He still had four steals and commanded a ton of attention on offense regardless of his poor efficiency. He supplemented his scoring by getting to the line but I leave tonight’s game just slightly worried, his movement was a bit slower than expected but perhaps it’s just part of the ramp up process.
B-	RJ Barrett 26 MIN, 20 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 8-14 FG, 0-3 3FG, 4-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 34 +/- A bad first half from RJ, he carved his way to the bucket running off a Spain pick n’ roll on the first possession to score the Raptors first bucket, but his outside shot wasn’t falling. Defensively, Josh Giddey absolutely shredded him nearly every time down the court, blowing by him and dropping dimes for easy buckets. In the second half Barrett ratcheted up the aggression, in particular when he played with a bench lineup featuring Walter, Shead, Graves and Murray-Boyles, Barrett took over and scored 14 of his 20 in the second half, every single one of his buckets came inside the paint or at the free throw line.

C+	Scottie Barnes 26 MIN, 23 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 8-19 FG, 1-3 3FG, 6-6 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 29 +/- An up and down game for Barnes tonight. He started a bit slow offensively but ended the first half with the dynamic midrange scoring he showcased in the preseason. Spinning, fading, it doesn’t matter, Barnes has shown he can make any jumpshot within the arc. At times it felt like he was forcing shots, and had an ugly sequence in the third quarter when he missed a shot, stood back and complained he didn’t get a foul call, and then the next time down tried to throw a turnaround jumper over two defenders. Overall he was a solid connector and even without shooting the ball incredibly efficiently, he scored 23 points which is an excellent sign for this team.
C	Jakob Poeltl 22 MIN, 3 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-3 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 15 +/- Pretty impressed with his movement, he definitely seems far healthier. He was an unfortunate victim of Giddey beating Barrett every play, as his man often got an easy bucket when he stepped up to help. Poeltl cut well offensively and created lots of space off his screens. His first bucket came when he finally got the ball off a short roll deep in the paint. Smooth touch off the glass. Still lots to off meat left on the defensive side of the ball, but a solid start for the big man.
A	Immanuel Quickley 28 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 6-13 FG, 4-9 3FG, 7-8 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 38 +/- I loved everything from Quickley tonight. He was the star of the game early, hitting all four of his threes in the first half. He balanced his scoring opportunities with playmaking, and was efficient in both as he dished seven assists with zero turnovers. Converted a few layups through contact and nailed seven of his eight free throw attempts. An excellent game from the point guard tonight.
Inc	Kyle Anderson 5 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Garbage time

Inc	Trayce Jackson-Davis 10 MIN, 9 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Will be a solid third string center, was large and in charge on the offensive end in garbage time.
B+	Jamison Battle 11 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-4 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 21 +/- Battle was the ninth man off the bench tonight, which I absolutely love to see. He started the second quarter strong, cleaning up his one miss and drilling a wing three. A few of his rebounds were uncontested free throw boards, but someone has to grab them! I’m just glad he seems to have finally made the rotation, and he made the most of it tonight.
B+	Collin Murray-Boyles 20 MIN, 6 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 2-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 28 +/- On the court with Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard and was the Raptors best defender. He’s an aggressive, physical, imposing force who made life very difficult for the Chicago Bulls. He is such a dominant rebounder, he grabs loose balls that seem impossible for him to reach and yet he finds a way. I would not be surprised to see Murray-Boyles make an All-Defense team this season.
B-	Allen Graves 19 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-2 FT, 3 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Graves’ hustle is off the charts. He is legitimately all over every single offensive rebound, if he isn’t grabbing them he’s incredibly close to getting his mitts on them. He seemed to gain confidence throughout the game, had a big transition dunk in the fourth quarter, and was solid defensively. Not much more you can ask from the rookie in his debut.

D	Jamal Shead 16 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 7 +/- Really quiet game from Shead, I didn’t see much to be impressed with, he even had an uncharacteristic four turnovers, a rare sight from a usually steady point guard.
Inc	Jaden Bradley 5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 1 +/- Garbage time.
B-	Ja’Kobe Walter 23 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 4-8 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 18 +/- One of his first possessions Walter caught the ball above the arc, took two dribbles to the elbow and hit the jumper off the bounce. It’s exactly what I was hoping to see from Walter, I absolutely love the creation effort. On defense he had a few big steals, including one on Giddey in transition that he threw ahead to Barnes for a euro lay. Shot wasn’t falling tonight but he found other ways to impact the game.
Inc	Alijah Martin 5 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 1 +/- Garbage time

A	Darko Rajakovic Loved the rotations early, putting in Murray-Boyles for Barnes as the first sub off the bench. He brought Barnes and Quickley back in before going to his ninth man, which eventually was Jamison Battle. In the second half he subbed Murray-Boyles in for Poeltl instead, allowing him to play with Barnes and Leonard. I’m glad he let Battle out of the doghouse and he did a great job managing the transition lineups. Won his first challenge as well, solid start for coach!