Bulls to face stingy Raptors defense in Play-in Tournament
CHICAGO (CBS) – It'll be an elimination game for the Chicago Bulls in Toronto on Wednesday, and if they become the first 10-seed to win a Play-In Tournament game, it's off to either Atlanta or Miami for a second elimination game in three days.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn had more on a Bulls team desperate to extend its season.
The Bulls are getting set for their fourth matchup with the Raptors, of course this one with the season on the line.
To pull off the upset, they will need contributions from guys like Coby White, who could be an x-factor in a game like this.
"I just go out there and hoop," White said. "That's all I know is just hoop ... I just go out there and play basketball."
Head coach Billy Donovan added about White, "You see him getting playmaking involved. You see him getting downhill, whether it's finishing at the rim or making a pass or generating shots for others. Defensively, I think he's taken on a lot of different matchups this year. Just the hustle plays for loose balls to block outs, a lot of things that probably don't show up in the stat sheet that will be hard to measure."
A lot has already been said about the Raptors' length and size that makes them a tough matchup for the Bulls, but as White said, there's just something about the way they play defense too.
"There's no other team in the NBA that plays the way they play, the way they junk up the game, the way Nick Nurse coaches," White said. "We played them three times this year though ... so we got a good look at them."
White added his Bulls teammates with Play-In game experience gave him some advice including to expect it to be very physical, expect the referees to let them play a bit, and most importantly, that every detail matters because it's just like a Game 7.