Raptors first-round opponents: Chicago Bulls (Pt 3 of 5)

NOTE: THIS IS PART THREE OF A FIVE-PART SERIES OUTLINING EACH 1ST-ROUND PLAYOFF OPPONENT OF THE RAPTORS. EACH PART WILL BE RELEASED OVER A SPAN OF FIVE DAYS.

If you have not read the series’ introduction, the link is as follows:

RELATED STORY: Assessing the Raptors’ potential first-round playoff matchups

My Eastern Conference seed projection: 6

I got the Bulls at 6. I trust Jimmy Butler to right the ship in these last few games. Dwyane Wade has made his return from elbow injury, and Rajon Rondo is showing shades of his former self.

Last 10 W/L record: 6-4

Solid, not spectacular. Simply put, the Bulls are an ugly team to watch but they’ve been getting the job done recently. The constant trade rumours floating around the Windy City concerning Jimmy Butler hasn’t seemed to faze him, or the team. Months and months ago, if you guessed three ball-dominant players (Rondo, Wade, Butler) wouldn’t work out in Chicago, give yourself a round of applause.

Regular season record vs. TOR: Bulls lead 2-1

Close your eyes, Raps fans. We all know about our awful recent history versus the Bulls. They finally broke an 11-game losing streak versus Chicago in a 122-120 OT thriller. Still, I can guarantee this is the last team any Raptors fan wants to see in the first round. Start wishing and praying, guys.

Related Story: Recap: Raptors-Bulls OT Thriller

Best player and X-factor

Best Player: Jimmy Butler

Besides LeBron James, this guy may just be the most complete player in the NBA. Butler went from role player, to starter, to star, to superstar. Sounds eerily similar to a certain Raptors two-guard. In fact, Butler is one of the league’s best lockdown defenders, shadowing the best opposing players nightly. Not many players can guard 1-4 positions with relative ease. Jimmy Buckets can. He’s averaging 24 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.5 apg on a 45/36/86 split. Those are some special numbers no matter how you slice it.

X-Factor: Nikola Mirotic

Taj Gibson was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the trade deadline. This gave Mirotic a huge opportunity to not only start, but build on a very rocky start to the season. The dude was a professional bricklayer in the early portion of the season. Now, a steady dose of minutes has picked up his confidence. His averages skyrocketed post-All Star averaging 14.5 ppg and 6 rpg on a 48/41/80 split. Pre-All Star, he was at 9 ppg and 5 rpg on a 38/30/77 split. This guy’s improvement has been impressive, and is exactly why I deem him Chicago’s X-factor.

This was March 31st, versus the Cavaliers in a Bulls victory:

How the Bulls matchup vs. Toronto

TOR Projected Starting Lineup: Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Ibaka, Valanciunas

CHI Projected Starting Lineup: Rondo, Wade, Butler, Mirotic, Lopez

Butler and Wade will stick to DeRozan for the majority of this potential series. Rondo and Carter-Williams will do the same to Lowry. The Bulls have a plethora of fantastic one-on-one defenders. Carroll and Tucker will take turns guarding Jimmy Butler and Wade. The bench is key here. With the trade of Doug McDermott, the Bulls lost one of their best bench pieces (and a renowned Raptors killer). The Bulls will in all likelihood keep this series interesting as they match up with Toronto extremely well.

The key for the Raptors is to:

1. Keep them out of the paint. Rondo, Wade and Butler all thrive near the painted area. The more long range bombs, the better.
2. Let them know this is a different team. The Raptors have been known for some time to be a ‘soft’ team. If you’ve watched any Raps games recently, you know PJ Tucker and Ibaka are rubbing off on everyone (see: Lopez scrap, Lance Stephenson altercation). This is a very good sign for Toronto and the fans seem to appreciate it, too.
3. Much like the Hawks, Chicago’s bench is absolutely terrible. The Raps must draw a ton of fouls. Felicio? Zipser? Plainly, if you’re the Raptors, you want those guys to play as much as possible.

Next up, the Miami Heat.