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Preview: Bulls at Raptors
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[February 19, 2014]
The Toronto Raptors have made it
clear to opposing teams that it'll take a whale of an offer to pry Kyle
Lowry away from them ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline. Lowry
showed his worth in Tuesday's in over Washington, and will once again be
the focus as Toronto hosts Chicago on Wednesday night looking for its
fourth consecutive victory. Lowry poured in 24 points and added 10
assists as the Raptors overcame a late Wizards surge en route to a
103-93 win.
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 Chicago comes in riding its own three-game winning streak — and
that's not all the teams share. Both clubs find themselves jockeying
for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and
both have relied on stalwart defense to get there. The Bulls have
allowed the second-fewest points per game in the NBA and
strengthened their hold on the No. 2 spot with a 92-76 triumph over
the Brooklyn Nets in their final game prior to the All-Star break.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN (Chicago), TSN2 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BULLS (27-25): Chicago has its eye on a top-four seed —
and that quest becomes a little more realistic with veteran forward
Carlos Boozer feeling much better in his recovery from a left calf
injury. Boozer expects the Bulls to make a charge for one of the top
spots in the East. "We're still going through a little bit of
(injury) stuff here and there," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "But
for us to get home court would be great. As high a seed as we can
get would help us a lot. We play great at home."
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ABOUT THE RAPTORS (29-24): With Toronto now 23-12 since trading
small forward Rudy Gay to Sacramento in a seven-player deal back in
December, trading Lowry would require a hefty return — both to set
the Raptors up for the future and to appease a playoff-hungry fan
base. Lowry has been one of the top point guards in the NBA over the
past two months, and comes into Wednesday's game averaging 19.7
points and 11.7 assists over his previous three games. The
27-year-old was held to 13 points and six assists in their last
meeting, an 85-79 Toronto win Dec. 31.
BUZZER-BEATERS
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Toronto has won two of three meetings this season, with the road
team prevailing each time.
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Boozer averages 17.4 points and 10 rebounds in 29 career games
versus the Raptors.
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Toronto is 6-5 in the tail end of back-to-backs, while Chicago is
2-2 on more than three days' rest.
PREDICTION: Raptors 95, Bulls 88
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