On Monday in Chicago, Toppin arrived for Randle to start the fourth quarter. But less than two minutes later, Thibodeau yanked him for Randle. In his 1:57 stint, Toppin committed two fouls and didn’t take a hit.
Thibodeau said the Bulls owned the boards and wanted Randle to get back into the race. Toppin played 8:46 in the defeat, scoring four points and making his lone shot attempt – an alley-oop dunk.
Thibodeau indicated that Toppin’s team defense is still a problem. Clearly, Toppin missed the summer league more than most rookies from a mid-major in Dayton, who never got a chance to show his stuff in the NCAA tournament that was canceled due to the pandemic.
Maybe Toppin’s stock wouldn’t have been that high if he hadn’t dominated the Big Dance, but we’ll never know. He averages 4.6 points in 12 games.
“He played pretty well,” Thibodeau said after the match. “(Monday) we started the fourth and the rebound was a problem. And so I just play all-round. But I like the things he does, he plays with good energy. I would say the most important part is that he learns the NBA. “