The Toronto Raptors match up well against the struggling Chicago Bulls

Looking back at last month’s NBA Trade Deadline, the approaches of the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls couldn’t have been more different. The Raptors were in full-on sell mode, shipping out Norman Powell, Terence Davis, and Matt Thomas while being close enough to trading Kyle Lowry that president Masai Ujiri admitted, “we didn’t know which way it was going to go.”

Sensing a window in a weak East and expanded playoff field, the Bulls went the other way in landing Nikola Vucevic, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Daniel Theis. To say things haven’t gone as anticipated for the two clubs would be an understatement.

Toronto has managed a respectable 7-8 record post-deadline, even as injuries and rest days have kept many of their best players off the court for extended stretches. More surprising has been the scuttling Bulls, who are just 6-10 with losses to the likes of Minnesota, Orlando, and Cleveland.

Now, the two teams find themselves neck-and-neck in a battle for a play-in spot that also includes the Washington Wizards. Their remaining schedule features a big head-to-head match-up, not to mention nightly score-watching among fan bases. With their playoff fates intertwined, now feels like a pretty good time to compare the teams as they wage war in the East standings.

The Toronto Raptors stack up well against the Chicago Bulls

After the nightmare March they endured, the Raptors don’t have to feel sorry for any other teams facing COVID woes. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that Zach LaVine’s continued absence on account of health and safety protocol concerns is a problem for Chicago.

The first-time All-Star continues to have a career year, even if his high usage may actually act to the Bulls’ detriment.

It’s unknown how long LaVine will remain away from the team, and every game counts at this point. Therefore, the pressure falls on newcomers Vucevic and Theis, along with point guard Coby White, Garrett Temple and newly christened sixth man Lauri Markkanen.

The Bulls have issues the Toronto Raptors don’t have

For the Raptors, the club’s key cogs appear to be overcoming previous fatigue and/or injury concerns, however real or imagined they may have been. That means a stretch run that could feature Lowry’s swan song alongside backcourt mate Fred VanVleet.

While Toronto is at its best with its star guard duo, along with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, leading the way, they’ll still need the help of those who led the bounce back. That means Gary Trent Jr. will still see minutes, as will rookie point guard Malachi Flynn and newly arrived big men Khem Birch and Freddie Gillespie.

On the injury front, the Bulls are relatively healthy apart from the quarantining LaVine. Meanwhile, the prognosis on Chris Boucher’s reported MCL sprain is encouraging, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to return in the next few weeks.

Tank talk

The tank chatter still hasn’t entirely quieted in Toronto, but you certainly won’t hear the same sentiment coming out of Chi-Town. That’s because the trade package used to land Vucevic included the club’s 2021 (top-four protected) first-rounder. On the contrary, finishing outside the East’s top 10 for the Bulls would be an unmitigated disaster.

While Vucevic and LaVine remain under contract for next year, Chicago is quickly heading towards a crossroads whereupon LaVine hits free agency in 2022 and appears positioned for a possible max deal. Marc Eversley and Arturas Karnisovas surely won’t be too keen on paying to lock in on a core leading the club to a finish outside the top 10.

For Toronto, any notion of tanking won’t be visible on the court. Lowry and VanVleet only know how to play one way, while many of their teammates are auditioning for significant roles on the 2021-22 team. If, however, this “rest” extends into fewer minutes played for key contributors, it could represent the opening Chicago needs to get that much closer to the play-in.

Head-to-head

By the time the Raptors and Bulls meet on May 13, there will be just two subsequent games remaining in the regular season. Not only will we know more about LaVine’s status, but Toronto will know where they stand following a killer four-game Western road swing book-ended by games against Brooklyn and Washington.

To date, many of Toronto’s resilient wins have come against lesser opponents, so visits to play the Nuggets (even without Jamal Murray), Jazz, Lakers and Clippers will speak volumes of where this team really stands. If they remain in the play-in mix, the Chicago game becomes absolutely critical, even as their Windy City rival has already locked up a tiebreaker advantage.

So far this season, the Bulls have had the Raptors’ number. They are 2-0 in a pair of head-to-head meetings, winning by 23 with nine different double-digit scorers back in March and, more recently, getting 44 points from the newly formed combination of LaVine and Vucevic en route to a 122-113 triumph on April 8.

The Toronto Raptors should play better down the stretch

Beyond their head-to-head, the teams’ respective late-season slates seem to favor Toronto. They wrap things up with a series of tough-but-winnable games against the Grizzlies, Clippers, Bulls, Mavericks, and Pacers.

Chicago, on the other hand, will close with two games against the Nets and a season finale vs Milwaukee – whether those teams have anything to play for remains to be seen.

As Raptor fans are well aware, there’s more to the play-in push than just the Bulls. If the season were to end today, neither 25-34 squad would be in the mix, with the Pacers and Wizards still holding the final play-in spots.

But between the prideful former champion Raptors and a Chicago squad hoping to salvage their ambitious blockbuster acquisition, it’s gonna be a fight to the finish.