NBA Notes: Raptors, RJ Barrett, Bulls, Josh Giddey, Bucks

Raptors

RJ Barrett appears to be rounding back into form.

The Raptors forward returned in late January after a lengthy injury absence, but says that it has taken time for both his knee and conditioning to catch up.

Barrett looked much more like himself Sunday, writes Michael Grange of SportsNet.ca. He scored a season-high 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting in a win over the  Mavericks and said afterward that the lingering knee pain has finally started to settle.

“That’s why a couple of weeks ago it didn’t look great,” Barrett said. “Just got to continue to work through it.”

The numbers suggest he is doing exactly that. Over his past six games, Barrett is averaging 21.7 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three.

Grange noted Barrett repeatedly attacked the basket against Dallas, finishing a dunk and a layup on off-ball cuts as he found rhythm within the offense.

“I think we know what he’s capable of, we’ve seen it the last two-and-a-half years,” teammate Scottie Barnes said. “Once he gets his stuff going, he’s pretty hard to guard, especially going downhill.”

Bulls

The Chicago Tribune’s Julia Poe is wondering why the Bulls are pushing Josh Giddey so hard at this stage of the season.

Chicago signed Giddey to a four-year extension last summer and views him as part of the franchise’s future. Yet Poe noted the Bulls returned him to Tuesday’s loss to Oklahoma City shortly after he limped off with a rolled ankle.

Giddey is also dealing with a lingering hamstring issue that was supposed to keep his workload around 30 minutes per game. Coach Billy Donovan has not always stuck to that plan.

With little left to play for in the standings, Poe questioned whether the Bulls should be taking any chances with one of their key long-term pieces.

Bucks

Ousmane Dieng wasted little time getting comfortable in Milwaukee.

The young forward said he dove into the Bucks’ playbook immediately after arriving in last month’s trade and was able to pick up the system within a couple of days, according to Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dieng had struggled to carve out a consistent role during his time with the Thunder. Since joining the Bucks, however, he has started to show more of the promise that made him a first-round pick.

“When you play the right way, you can play with anybody, or any team,” Dieng said. “I just feel like I play the right way.”