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Bulls open up the season tonight against Toronto

The TORONTO Raptors will open their season steeped in
serenity tonight at Air Canada Centre against the Chicago
Bulls, whose own camaraderie was shaken by in-fighting.
While the Raptors were talking about their comfort level with each
other, the Bulls lost a player for at least a month because a
teammate punched him during practice.
"Camaraderie and chemistry is hard to come by," Raptors All-Star
DeMar DeRozan said Tuesday after the team practiced.
The Bulls, meanwhile, seemed to be proving that the same day during
their practice when Bobby Portis punched Nikola Mirotic in an
altercation that resulted in two broken facial bones and a
concussion.
Both players will be missing from the Bulls' lineup Thursday and
beyond.
Mirotic, who had won the starting job at power forward during
training camp, is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks and
might require surgery. Portis was suspended by the team for eight
games.
The two have had a long-standing feud.
Their absences create a hole at power forward, and the job will be
taken by rookie Lauri Markkanen for now, according to Bulls coach
Fred Hoiberg. Cristiano Felicio is the other power forward.
The Bulls had worked all during training camp and in the offseason
at creating a new, positive team culture that emphasizes
competitiveness and hard work.
"It's certainly a little deflating," Bulls center Robin Lopez said.
"But everything you guys have heard, people expressing how great
this culture has been so far, this summer and into the fall, the
majority of that is legitimately true
"It's going to be not only on those two players to mend that
confidence, to mend that trust between the two of them, but on the
teammates, upon us. Part of that good mojo we have right now is
gonna be huge in unifying the two."
The Bulls are also dealing with injuries to Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn,
Cameron Payne and Quincy Pondexter.
When Chicago obtained Kay Felder this week, after he was waived by
the Cleveland Cavaliers, he became the eighth point guard brought
in since last season.
"Well, especially with the injury situation we have (with Dunn),
(Felder) is a young explosive point guard with great speed and
quickness," Hoiberg said. "He fits how we want to play -- up-tempo
-- and he's a guy that I know everybody upstairs really liked
coming out of college. ... He's a good guy to take a look at and
see if he fits with the future plans."
The Raptors, meanwhile, have been talking about how their
familiarity has bred content.
"So, when you have that sense of comfort -- knowing guys as
individuals on and off the court -- you have a different comfort
zone when you go out there in the big moments, understanding each
other," DeRozan said. "That kind of goes a long way and it actually
wins you games in the NBA. You can tell teams that have been
together for years. ... They can pull out victories over more
talented teams. Things like that definitely go a long way."
Both teams are adapting to a different style of play this season,
with an emphasis on 3-point shooting.
"We have talked a lot about three things: playing with pace,
playing with movement, playing with unselfishness," Hoiberg said.
"And I think they have bought into all three of those areas. I
think at times we have actually played a little too unselfish. We
have moved the ball and it has gotten us in trouble in late
shot-clock situations."
The Raptors, who have relied heavily on DeRozan and All-Star point
guard Kyle Lowry, will be emphasizing ball movement and 3-point
shooting instead of the one-on-one approach.
"(If) I don't know where the ball is going, damn sure the defense
is not going to know where it's going," Raptors coach Dwane Casey
said. "It's a fun way to play. That's the way the game is going;
it's harder to scout. The game is so sophisticated now that teams
scout you so well. They know exactly what you're going to do before
you even get the rest of the sentence out of your mouth as a coach."
The Raptors signed C.J. Miles to add to their 3-point shooting
ability. Miles made 41 percent of his 3-pointers last season with
the Indiana Pacers.
In the season opener, the Bulls likely will start Jerian Grant,
Justin Holiday, Paul Zipser, Markkanen and Lopez, and the Raptors
will go with Lowry, DeRozan, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka and Jonas
Valanciunas.
Tonight's game can be heard on Good Time Oldies 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at 6.

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