TORONTO _ From the first day of training camp, executive vice president John Paxson said this season's Bulls won't be judged by wins and losses but by effort and competitiveness.
Two days after that competitiveness crossed a line with a Bobby Portis punch that landed Nikola Mirotic in the hospital and Portis on the suspended list, the Bulls opened the 52nd season in franchise history with a 117-101 loss to the Raptors.
Sometimes double-digit deficits can overshadow all the hustle in the world.
Expect a lot of those in this most challenging of upcoming seasons, the first in a full rebuild after last June's trade of Jimmy Butler and the subsequent departures of fellow "Alphas" Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.
Robin Lopez's 18 points and eight rebounds led the Bulls, while rookie Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Bulls shot 41.6 percent.
With a starting lineup of Jerian Grant, Justin Holiday, Paul Zipser, Markkanen and Lopez, the Bulls fared well in the first quarter, trailing 25-23. When Hoiberg went to the bench, the wheels fell off.
The Raptors blitzed a unit of Ryan Arcidiacono, David Nwaba, Denzel Valentine, Quincy Pondexter and Cristiano Felicio to open the second, doing the majority of the damage of a 15-0 run against that five. Even when select starters returned, the massacre continued to the tune of a 30-4 run.
In all, the Bulls were outscored 33-14 in the period with seven turnovers to just five field goals.
Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
