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Raptors-Bulls Preview

Dec 27, 2015 - 10:15 PM DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo have played leading roles in helping the Toronto Raptors hold their own despite missing several players over the past five weeks.

Now the visiting Raptors should finally be at full strength with Jonas Valanciunas expected to return Monday night when they try to end a five-game skid against the Chicago Bulls.

Valanciunas was averaging career highs of 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in 14 starts before suffering a broken left hand in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 20. Toronto entered that contest 7-6 but has won 12 of 18 with Biyombo filling in at center.

Coach Dwane Casey reportedly said Valanciunas will be back in action Monday.

Biyombo has been particularly dominant on the boards of late, averaging 15.2 in the last six games to go along with 2.8 blocks. He finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double in Saturday's 111-90 victory at Milwaukee.

DeMarre Carroll contributed seven points in 18 minutes off the bench in his return from a nine-game absence due to a bruised right knee. James Johnson was back after missing Tuesday's 103-99 home win over Dallas with an ankle injury, and Patrick Patterson returned after leaving the game against the Mavericks with flu-like symptoms.

"When I first got out there I got a little winded, but at the same time it was just a great feeling to be out there with my teammates," Carroll told the team's official website.

DeRozan has carried the club, ranking second in the NBA behind James Harden (28.4) with 26.6 points per game since Dec. 9. He scored 22 with eight of the team's season-high 31 assists Saturday when the Raptors won for the sixth time in eight road games.

DeRozan, though, shot 36.0 percent in three games against Chicago last season. These teams haven't met since late March.

Poor defense has been a major part of Toronto's recent struggles against the Bulls, giving up 117.7 points per game on 55.9 percent shooting in the last three matchups. That's an area in which the Raptors have excelled in winning their last two games, allowing averages of 94.5 points and 42.8 percent shooting.

The Bulls (16-12) shot a season high-tying 53.8 percent Saturday but lost for the fourth time in five games, 118-111 at Dallas. Derrick Rose led the way with 25 points and Nikola Mirotic added 23 with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Rose scored nine in the fourth quarter but had a key turnover before getting called for a 5-second violation when Chicago had a chance to tie in the final 11 seconds. Jimmy Butler, however, chose to see the positives in a split of the trip to Oklahoma City and Dallas.

"We'll learn from this tough one after playing like we did (in a 105-96 win over the Thunder), but that's why we have 82 of them," the All-Star guard said.

Butler keyed last season's four-game sweep of Toronto, averaging 23.7 points on 61.8 percent shooting in the three games he played. Mirotic, who had averaged 4.8 points in his previous five games before Saturday's outburst, has totaled 44 in his last two in this series.

The Bulls hope to tighten things up defensively after allowing an average of 106.2 points in regulation over their last five games.