Raptors get jump on trade deadline, add Ibaka
The Chicago Bulls certainly are trying to be active in advance of next week's NBA trade deadline.
Toronto, Tuesday night's opponent at the United Center, got a jump on the Feb. 23 deadline by acquiring Orlando big man Serge Ibaka in exchange for forward Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round pick. The trade was announced before game time, but Ibaka was not available to play.
"Anytime you can add a talent that has playoff experience, Finals experience and a defender and two-way player like Ibaka, it's got to give us a boost," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said before the game.
"It's a good addition for us. There's another side of that in losing Terrence Ross, a kid we're grown and groomed. You hate to lose a player like that, but for our team, for our program, for what we're trying to do right now, Ibaka fills a huge need."
A few weeks ago, Toronto was pushing Cleveland for the top spot in the East but has gone 4-11 since Jan. 18 after Tuesday night's loss to the Bulls. The Raptors rank 26th in the league in defensive rebound percentage.
Ibaka is best known for his years playing with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City. He was traded to Orlando last summer for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and a first-round pick, which turned out to be Domantas Sabonis.
Ibaka's Orlando career lasted just 56 games. He will be a free agent this summer, and the Magic obviously feared losing him for nothing in return.
"The toughness, the physical toughness and his size," Casey said when asked what would be Ibaka's best attributes. "It gives us a shot in the arm, gives the players immediate help."
Bulls push for 11:
Heading into Tuesday's matchup, the Bulls had beaten Toronto 10 straight times, going back three seasons. Make it 11 now.
Asked how that has happened, Bulls forward Taj Gibson didn't have a definitive answer.
"I wish I could tell you, I don't know," Gibson told reporters after the morning shootaround. "We've got lucky a few times. We like playing against them, especially in Toronto. This is a tough team; we just get up against tough teams."
Dwane Casey has coached Toronto in all 11 of those losses, and he wasn't sure, either.
"I don't know what it is about the Chicago Bulls that's given us fits," Casey said. "We stay up day and night trying to figure it out. We've got some things (in general) we need to continue to get better at and concentrate on, closing games,"
MCW gets another chance:
Michael Carter-Williams was back in the Bulls' starting lineup Tuesday since Dwyane Wade out with a sore right wrist.
Carter-Williams epitomized the Bulls' inconsistent ice-show road trip. In the first two games he played, Carter-Williams averaged 22 points while shooting 63 percent from the field. In the next three games, he averaged 6.3 points, shot 29 percent and had as many turnovers as assists.
"I loved his aggressiveness, getting to the basket, his attack, as opposed to settling for jump shots outside," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said before Tuesday's game. "He did a much better job of attacking, getting downhill to the basket, to either make a play for himself or for a teammates.
"Right now with (Paul) Zipser out of the lineup, he's being asked to guard bigger more physical players. That's a tough task for a guy who's played point guard for most of his life. That's where we are right now."