Game #23: Toronto Raptors 93 - Chicago Bulls 92

[inthepaint]

No fred. Hopefully TD can get some good run in. And we can see if Norm works with the starters.

Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the game: Yes

[bertarapsfan]

Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the game: Yes

Ya Norms been on fire lately. Might give enough evidence for nick to move him to the starting spot full time but tough to say. FVV has been great also but having a real backup PG could be very benifical. we could probaly finagle it so Fred still gets the same minutes and Lowry can quarterback the bench. while also playing the 2 pg lineup 10-12 minutes a game

[golden]

Can we talk about the Raptors last possession? what was Lowry thinking? 😠

There was also a play late in the 4th where Pascal was asking for the ball because he had LaVine guarding him in the post but Lowry just waved him off and the Raptors ended up turning the ball over.

It’s a tug of war between Lowry and Pascal right now over roles & style of play. Similar thing happened last year with Lowry & Kawhi except Lowry went super passive because...Kawhi. The result was the same, it looked like Lowry and Kawhi couldn’t play well in the same game and the team was disjointed.

[DanH]

It’s a tug of war between Lowry and Pascal right now over roles & style of play. Similar thing happened last year with Lowry & Kawhi except Lowry went super passive because...Kawhi. The result was the same, it looked like Lowry and Kawhi couldn’t play well in the same game and the team was disjointed.

There's been a shocking lack of sets run where Lowry and Pascal get to play a 2 man game. Usually it is one or the other running a set while the other stands in the corner, when those two setting screens for each other is likely our most dangerous action. Kind of odd from a coaching perspective.

[KeonClark]

You gotta keep Norm on with the starters, Norm has been our offensive MVP for the last week. We don't win against the lowly Bulls without him. Fred can still get 30 plus minutes from the bench.

[DanH]

You gotta keep Norm on with the starters, Norm has been our offensive MVP for the last week. We don't win against the lowly Bulls without him. Fred can still get 30 plus minutes from the bench.

You really don't gotta. Really don't oughta either.

[LJ2]

You gotta keep Norm on with the starters, Norm has been our offensive MVP for the last week. We don't win against the lowly Bulls without him. Fred can still get 30 plus minutes from the bench.

Last week was not a good week to make a case for Norm.

[Demographic Shift]

Feel pretty bad for the Bulls. Was up on Miami, only to lose in OT. Than on the B2B they were up on the Raptors, only to lose it in the end.

Pretty sh!t game again. We only won because the Bulls aren't that good. Both teams playing on a B2B and Raps on the road, but still. Chicago got a lot of open looks from 3. We're not rotating fast enough. Or we're buying the fakes from the guys with the ball too much. Watch the ball, not the player. Switch fast to the shooter and hope they miss. We just are giving up way too many looks. Everyone is at fault. But Siakam and Lowry are the worse offenders at it. I think Siakam looks like he's thinking too hard. He's not really that good when he has to think. He's a free spirit. But he's playing like he is doing complex calculus in his head. His defense should be a lot better. He's got the size and quickness. Our defense needs that, especially if we're playing small around him.

Offensively it was just a grind overall. We aren't moving the ball around fast enough. We're not getting good looks at the rim. Kyle was trying to get the whistle too much. He still made some big plays and did score the winning bucket. He got fouled on that out of bounds play though. He's just not getting those calls anymore. Pascal's continuing to struggle. And it wasn't the defense game planning him. Feels like maybe he's just tired. Playing the entire first was probably not the right call. He had fire early on but than it just sizzled. Fred not playing is obviously impacting that too.

OG had some good plays on defense. Gasol was okay.. grabbed a bunch of critical boards.

Player of the game is easily Norm though. Only guy that was consistent on offense tonight. Actually he's having a pretty good stretch. But yeah, without him we lose we're unfortunately still streaking.. the bad kind of streaking.

Feels good to finally get a win, even though it could have easily been a loss. Big game on Wednesday with two very tired teams. Going to be another ugly one!

Like the Wizards with Ernie Grunfeld who singlehandidly kept the Wiz from being anything more than a 2nd round exit so too should raps fans continue to cheer for Jerry Riensdorf to keep Gar Forman and John Paxson on as the managing braintrust of the Bulls.

We won't ever have to worry about them as a team to beat as long as GarPax are calling the shots in Chicago. .

[golden]

There's been a shocking lack of sets run where Lowry and Pascal get to play a 2 man game. Usually it is one or the other running a set while the other stands in the corner, when those two setting screens for each other is likely our most dangerous action. Kind of odd from a coaching perspective.

I read that Nurse said he doesn't usually call plays when Fred is running the point because FVV knows the playbook inside out and has a good feel for the game. I'd imagine Lowry gets even greater Peyton Manning-like control since he's had the keys to the offense for years now. Ultimately, yes, it's still a coaching issue, assuming Lowry will listen to Nurse.

[Zak24gege]

Utah Jazz down 20 to Thunder. And lost by 30 to Lakers. Initially it looked like a signature win for Raps but looks like just a win against a bad team.

Yeah, they also dropped 49 points on us in the 3Q. Foreshadowing defensive malaise???

[Zak24gege]

I read that Nurse said he doesn't usually call plays when Fred is running the point because FVV knows the playbook inside out and has a good feel for the game. I'd imagine Lowry gets even greater Peyton Manning-like control since he's had the keys to the offense for years now. Ultimately, yes, it's still a coaching issue, assuming Lowry will listen to Nurse.

On the question about Lowry listening to Nurse, Hell No. It was also FVV who said, "everyone knows the NBA is run by the players" when he was asked if Danny Green was upset about not starting the 2H of the NBA finals game. If DG wanted to start the 3Q, he would have. At the end of the last nights game, did Kyle look at Nick to call a play, nah.