Why did Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk not play versus Bulls?

The winning ways are over for the Raptors. They lost to the Chicago Bulls despite Zach LaVine not playing.

Toronto was led by Scottie Barnes, who put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists and shot 40 percent from the field. Despite the poor shooting percentage, Barnes was surgical throughout the game, carving up the Bulls in the post for openings.

Barnes’s post-play was heightened by the return of Immanuel Quickley, who started and, despite being on a minute restriction, poured in 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Quickley said after the game that he still felt sore after playing just 15 minutes.

RJ Barrett put up 19 points, and Gradey Dick put up 14, but neither really made their mark in this one.

Raptors rookie Ja’Kobe Walter stepped in and played 18 minutes, putting up 14 points and getting to the free-throw line eight times. He continues to show off his relentlessness at getting to the cup.

The game was lost because of two things: 3s and free throws.

The Bulls took 10 more 3s than the Raptors, made eight more, and the Raptors took 10 more free throws, but made just four more.

The math battle killed them.

But perhaps the most interesting storyline was something that didn’t happen on the court. Both Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk received healthy scratches and didn’t play at all. After the game Coach Rajakovic said he wanted to prioritize giving an opportunity to Ja’Kobe Walter and 10-day Orlando Robinson.

With both Boucher and Olynyk being at the forefront of trade rumors, it made for an interesting move after the duo had been playing good basketball off the bench for the Raptors.

If you’d like a full breakdown of the game, check out Esfandiar Baraheni’s recap on Raptors Republic’s YouTube Channel.

Enjoy!

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