GAME #23 – TORONTO RAPTORS (15-7) vs. CHICAGO BULLS (8-16) MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019 – 8 P.M. (ET) – UNITED CENTER TV: SPORTSNET – RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN
INJURY REPORT AS OF 1:30P.M. MONDAY
TOR@CHI
Chicago Bulls Felicio, Cristiano Out Injury/Illness – Right Wrist; Fracture – Hutchison, Chandler Out Injury/Illness – Right Shoulder; Sprain – Mokoka, Adam Out G League – Two-Way – Porter Jr., Otto Out Injury/Illness – Left Foot; Bone bruise – Strus, Max Out G League – Two-Way – White, Coby Probable Injury/Illness – Right Hamstring; TIghtness –
Toronto Raptors Brissett, Oshae Out G League – Two-Way – Hernandez, Dewan Out G League – On Assignment – Johnson, Stanley Out Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Stress reaction – McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – Ponds, Shamorie Out G League – Two-Way – Thomas, Matt Out Injury/Illness – Left Finger; Middle; fracture – distal phalanx – VanVleet, Fred Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Contusion
NOTE-A-BULL FOR TONIGHT
Dating to Dec. 2 at Sacramento, Lauri Markkanen has made four three-point field goals in each of his last four outings. This is the longest such streak with four-plus threes of his career and it is tied for the longest such streak by a Bulls player in team history, which was originally set by Nikola Mirotić from March 22-30, 2017. Only two players in the league have accomplished this in five straight games this seasons, Houston’s James Harden (six games) and Washington’s Davis Bertans (five).
TEAM NOTE-A-BULLS
Chicago is forcing the opposition to the turn the ball over a league-best 18.3 times per game this season. Its opponents have committed 20-or-more turnovers seven times this season, which are tied for the most occurrences in the league.
Over its last 10 games, Chicago opponents are shooting .322 from beyond the arc. The only other teams in the league whose opposition is shooting a worse 3-point field goal percentage in its last 10 contests are Denver (.306) Dallas (.306). Overall, Bulls opponents this season are shooting .327 from 3-point range, the third-lowest percentage in the league.
As a team, the Bulls have totaled 401 deflections, which are the most among Eastern Conference teams and ranks third in the league.
The Chicago Bulls 515 points off turnovers are the most in the league. The next closest team are the L.A. Lakers with 455.
Chicago’s 228 steals lead the league. Since 1983-84, the only other seasons in team history the Bulls had more steals through their first 24 games was 1994-95 (231) and 1990-91 (248).
Across the first 23 games of the 2019-20 season, the Bulls are outscoring the opposition, 634-597, in the first quarter. The +37 point differential in the opening frame is the fourth-best in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the league. Over the last five seasons, .861 percent of teams that finish the season with a positive +/- in the first quarter have made the postseason.
The Bulls held the Heat to 49 first-half points on Sunday representing the fifth time in its last 10 games Chicago opponents have scored 50-or-less points in a game’s opening half. Overall, the Bulls are allowing the opposition to score an average of 52.2 points per first half this season, which is the sixth lowest average in the league.
Chicago knocked down 13 threes on Sunday, representing the team’s sixth consecutive contest with 10-plus 3-point field goals dating back to Nov. 29 at Portland. This is tied for the fourth-longest such streak in team history and it is the longest since they did it in seven straight from Oct. 22-Nov. 2, 2018.
The Bulls, 106-99, win against the Grizzlies on Wednesday was the team’s first wire-to-wire victory of the season.
The first half on Wednesday saw Chicago outscore Memphis, 50-35. The Grizzlies’ 35 points were the fewest the Bulls had allowed in a game’s opening half since they held the Nets to 32 points in the first half on April 12, 2017. The last time Chicago held a Western Conference opponent to fewer points in a first half was Dec. 8, 2016 against San Antonio (32 points).
Chicago swatted a season-high 13 shots on Wednesday, the most they have had in a single game since blocking 18 shots on Jan. 1, 2015 vs. Denver.
PLAYER NOTE-A-BULLS
Coby White made three of his attempts from 3-point range on Sunday bringing his career total to 51 threes. He is the only rookie this season who has totaled at least 50 3-point field goals and he is ninth player in league history to make 50-or-more threes within a player’s first 24 career games. He joins Markkanen (55 threes) as the only Bulls in team history to accomplish this.
On Sunday, White dished out a career-high eight assists, which were the most in a single game by a Bulls rookie since Derrick Rose had 11 assists on April 15, 2009 against Toronto.
Thaddeus Young on Sunday went 5-10 (.500) from field, good for his 339th career game with a field-goal percentage of at least .500 when attempting 10-or-more shots. The 339 occurrences are the ninth-most among active players.
With 18 points on Sunday, Zach LaVine’s season total now stands at 536. He is one of 13 players in the league and one of five in the Eastern Conference to reach the 500-point mark this season. This is the second consecutive season in which LaVine has totaled at least 500 points within the team’s first 25 games of a campaign. He joins current member of the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler (twice), as the only Chicago players to accomplish this multiple times since 2000-01.
Satoransky’s five assists on Friday moved his career total to 900 assists (now 902). With 291 career turnovers, he joins Memphis’ Tyus Jones (928 assists, 207 turnovers) as the only active players in the league with at least 900 assists and fewer than 300 turnovers.
Kris Dunn (three steals) recorded his 14th multi-steal game of the season on Sunday, which are tied for the most such games in the league. His 48 total steals are the second-most in the league.
White hit four shots beyond the arc on Friday, his fifth game of the season with four-plus threes. The five such games are the most among rookies.
LaVine on Wednesday dropped a team-high 25 points. In each of Chicago’s four games from Nov. 27-Dec.4, all of which came against a team from the West, LaVine scored 25-plus points. The last Bulls player to accomplish this when Chicago had played at least four consecutive contests against Western Conference opponents was Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in four straight from Nov. 20-25, 1997 (Elias Sports Bureau).
Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford each blocked four shots on Wednesday. This was the first time two Bulls each blocked at least four shots in a single game since Dec. 2, 2015, versus Denver when Pau Gasol (four) and Joakim Noah (four) each accomplished this.
Twelve of Markkanen’s 20 points on Wednesday came from beyond the arc. The four threes brought his career total to 300 (now 312) 3-point field goals. In 141 career games, he became the fifth-fastest player in league history to make 300 threes behind Portland’s Damian Lillard (117 games), Utah’s Donovan Mitchell (132), Minnesota’s Robert Covington (134) and Golden State’s Klay Thompson (138).
Satoransky is averaging 5.2 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game this season. He joins Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe (5.6 apg, 2.2 tpg.), Indiana’s T.J. McConnell (5.0, 1.5), Washington’s Isaiah Thomas (5.1, 2.2), Toronto’s Fred VanVleet (7.0, 2.4) and Boston’s Kemba Walker (5.0, 2.2) as the only qualifying Eastern Conference players who are averaging at least 5.0 assists and fewer than 2.5 turnovers per game this season.
Carter Jr. (106) is one of four players in the league with at least 100 screen assists joining Utah’s Rudy Gobert (163), Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis (162) and Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson (103).
UNCONSCIOUS To cap off his career-best 49-point performance on Nov. 23, Zach LaVine hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining. This was the second time in his Bulls career he made a game-winning shot with 1.0 second-orless remaining in the game. Since 2000-01, he is the only Bulls player to make two such shots.
150 On Nov. 23, Wendell Carter Jr. brought down his 150th career offensive rebound in his 61st career game. He became the fourth-fastest player in team history to reach this total behind Elton Brand (33 games), Charles Oakley (56) and Taj Gibson (57).
WHITE’S NIGHT On Nov. 12 vs. New York, Bulls rookie Coby White scored 27 points. Twenty-three of his points came in fourth quarter, the most by a Bulls rookie in any quarter since 2000-01. He made seven threes in the quarter, an NBA rookie quarter record, and he became the youngest player in NBA history to make at least seven threes in a game.
NBA ALL-STAR 2020 Chicago will host 69th annual NBA All-Star at the United Center on Sunday, Feb. 16, marking the third NBA All-Star in Chicago. In addition to the All-Star Game, the United Center will be the venue for the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 14, as well as State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, which features the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, the JBL Three-Point Contest and the Verizon Slam Dunk. Wintrust Arena, home of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, will host the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and All-Star Game practices.
The view from left field 