Chicago Bulls player to watch vs Raptors: Thaddeus Young
Next up we have the one player on the list who wasn’t recently added to the roster. Thaddeus Young has been a swiss army knife of sorts for Billy Donovan and the Bulls this season and he is successfully altering his game yet again to help the new group Chicago has.
In the Bulls previous two games, both of which were wins, Young chipped in five assists from the frontcourt. On a team that lacks a standout distributor, it’s clear he will be asked to help get players the ball in the right spots.
It’s one of the many things he is capable of and out of the frontcourt it offers plenty of ways to exploit opposing defenses. He is the Bulls third-best player right now and will be a crucial part of any and every win they pick up in their journey to earning a playoff spot.
Young is also a huge plus on the defensive side. While he is a good defender and versatile matching up with opponents, he is especially helpful on this Bulls team that features questionable rim protection, to say the least.
If the Bulls are going to get the win against the Raptors Young will be one of the key players leading the way.
Chicago Bulls player to watch vs Raptors: Nikola Vucevic
How could Vucevic not top the list ahead of this game with the Raptors? Not only is he the newly acquired all-star on the team, but he is also coming off a dominant performance in the team’s last game.
That isn’t saying his other games in Chicago have been bad by any means. Against the Pacers, though, he showed just how dominant he can be on the offensive end. He finished that one with 32 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists.
It came against an undermanned Pacers team to be fair, but that undermanned group is likely more relatable to the bigs the Raptors will be throwing on him tonight. Vucevic should easily have one of his strong and far too easy looking great games in this one. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he simply dominated again either.
He and Zach LaVine seem to be on the same page as they build their relationship on the court and LaVine definitely knows how easily Vooch can get his in the half-court offense. Expect the big man to be featured early and often and end up having another statement game.