Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey feels he knows the
solution of the riddle that the Chicago Bulls have been for his
team.
The Bulls go into tonight's game against the Raptors at the Air
Canada Centre having won 11 in a row against Toronto, including
twice this season.
The answer, Casey feels, is provided by the way the Raptors
dominated the Indiana Pacers 116-91 Sunday night.
"From start to finish, I thought it was a solid contribution
offensively and defensively," Casey said. "Set the tone defensively
from start to finish from the jump ball. That's the way we have to
play and continue. Whatever we have to do to get this (monkey) off
our back against Chicago, they beat us 11 in a row and that has to
stop. Collectively, whatever we have to do defensively and
offensively to set the tone, we have to do that."
The Raptors (41-29) came close Jan. 7 when they blew a 19-point
lead and went to overtime before losing 123-118 at Chicago. The
Bulls won 105-94 on Feb. 14, also at Chicago. The game tonight is
the finale of the season series.
The Bulls (33-37) need to maintain their streak against the Raptors
as they try to make earn a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
They have played the past two games without Dwyane Wade, who will
miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured right elbow.
The Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 95-86 on Saturday at the United
Center, after losing 112-107 to the Wizards in Washington Friday.
"It's got to be a total team effort," coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Jimmy Butler can see progress as the team adjusts to playing
without Wade.
"It started off a little shaky," Butler said. "But we started to
fix a lot of things in that second half (Friday). And I think
that's the way we're going to go moving forward. We've got to keep
things really simple. We can't put too many guys in too many places
and positions on the floor, because they're not used to it. And
it's not their fault."
Butler scored 23 points against Utah. Bobby Portis had a
career-high 22 and rookie Denzel Valentine scored 11 and grabbed 12
rebounds.
Robin Lopez, who is averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds, has
averaged 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the past two games.
"I know there's a lot on Jimmy's shoulders," Lopez says. "The
defense really keys in on him. I'm just trying to be a bit of a
pressure release in any way I can. A lot of the guys are doing a
great job in stepping up in that regard."
The Raptors regained their eye for shooting 3-pointers against the
Pacers, going 12-for-27 from beyond the arc, led by four from
DeMarre Carroll.
It was the first time since March 3 at Washington that Toronto had
hit double-digits in 3-pointers, a span of seven games.
'It's just knowing that the ball is going to get swung," said DeMar
DeRozan, who scored 22 points and was 1-for-2 in 3-pointers Sunday
despite not playing in the fourth quarter of the one-sided game.
"Just finding a spot and everybody being conscious of moving the
ball. If you have a good shot, look for the great shot. I think
that's what we have been conscious of and guys being ready to shoot.
"The key is I thought they were in the rhythm of the game, it
wasn't forced, it was natural and that's what we needed," Casey
said.
Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 13 rebounds Sunday to record
his career-best 26th double-double of the season, which also leads
the team.
The Raptors are 23-12 at home and the Bulls are 13-22 on the road.
Tonight's game can be heard on Good Time Oldies 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at 5:30.
