New-look Bulls bid to build chemistry vs. Raptors
The Chicago Bulls will have a different look when they complete a four-game road trip Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors.
The Bulls have been busy in the trade market, with Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and Kevin Huerter among the departures.
On the court, Chicago and Toronto will try to overcome difficult losses.
The Bulls have lost two games in a row and five of their past six, including a 131-115 drubbing by the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday in a game in which Chicago trailed by 26 points. White had 21 points and 10 rebounds in his final game for the Bulls.
The defeat followed a 134-91 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday; Chicago trailed by as many as 54 points.
‘‘(The Bulls lost) high-value players, players that played a lot of minutes for us, but it's the NBA,'' said Chicago forward Jalen Smith, who scored 16 points on Tuesday. "It's the job we signed up for. We've got to be ready to play at any point and time. It's a next-man-up mentality. ...You've just got to come out and play hard. Find a way to impact the game. Losing a lot of key pieces is going to be tough for us, but we signed up for this challenge.''
The Raptors led by 18 points at one stage on Wednesday vs. Minnesota and took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter before falling 128-126. The Raptors have split the first two games of five straight at home.
"In the second half, we had nine turnovers," Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. "I believe that (seven) of those came in the fourth quarter. In the first half, we did a really good job taking care of the ball. We had only four turnovers.
"I think that was the main thing there that out of those turnovers, they were able to get out in transition and then run and score easily on us."
Brandon Ingram scored 25 points for Toronto.
"We had a really, really good third quarter, and either at the end of that third quarter or the start of the fourth quarter they gained a little momentum," Ingram said. "They got a few steals, went down and made a few shots. A lot of their role players were effective, and they shot the ball well."
The Bulls won all four meetings with the Raptors last season. They last met on April 1 at Chicago, when the Bulls won 137-118 with White scoring 28 points and Vucevic adding 22 points and 10 rebounds.
White was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday with Mike Conley Jr. for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round draft picks.
On Tuesday, Vucevic was sent to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons, with the teams also exchanging second-round draft picks. In addition, Chicago traded Huerter and Dario Saric to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team deal. The Bulls received Conley from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jaden Ivey from the Pistons.
In a bookkeeping move, the Raptors sent Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets and acquired Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Paul was not expected to report to Toronto.
The Raptors also acquired forward Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Golden State Warriors for a second-round draft choice through the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN reported. He should provide some up-front size that Toronto has lacked with the absence or Jakob Poeltl because of a strained back.