Late comeback from Toronto falls short as the 9-then-8-man Bucks come out with the W.
Brutal offensive night for the Raptors. Non-bigs shot 14-59 from the floor, per @ekoreen.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 17 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | -9 +/-Major step back from Amir tonight. He was looking great over the past two games, but was listless tonight. At least he hit a three. |  | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 25 MIN | 6-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 13 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -9 +/-With Milwaukee nursing injuries (and a Larry Sanders suspension), the front court was thin and Jonas exposed them. Raptors weren’t really feeding him though, and he did most of his damage off offensive rebounds. In the first quarter, he fit four field goals but only one of them was off a pass. Wolstat from the Sun said the Raptors won’t put JV out there unless the other team is playing a “true centre.” Get used to this, if you aren’t already. |  | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 29 MIN | 1-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 2 PTS | -12 +/-At a certain point, the Raptors have to just bench Kyle Lowry. This isn’t a knee-jerk to reaction from tonight’s game; there’s a trend here. What’s the point of trotting this version of Lowry — this 70% Lowry — for 30+ minutes a night? Play the long game, Casey. This team is going to win the Atlantic. I just hope we have a healthy Lowry come playoff time but with the hobbling player donning No. 7 right now, I’m not so sure he’ll have anything left in the tank. |  | |||||||
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 33 MIN | 3-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -6 +/-He’s a major negative on defence and the Bucks outran the Raptors, especially in the first half. Vasquez is responsible for Toronto’s poor transition D because he’s so damn slow. When he runs, he looks like he’s running on one of those flat escalators at the airport. There’s tons of effort, but he doesn’t cover a lot of ground. Vasquez helped spark the fourth quarter comeback though, salvaging an otherwise forgettable game. | | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 25 MIN | 5-16 FG | 6-8 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 16 PTS | -12 +/-He was clearly focusing on the offensive end of the court, neglecting on help duties and allowing some easy lay ups. He’s continuing to get to the line, but the passing we have seen from him wasn’t there tonight. In his defence, the Bucks used their length to bother him. |  | |||||||
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 19 MIN | 1-1 FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | +5 +/-What more do you want from your ninth man off the bench? He’s solid as a rock and did exactly what the Raptors needed — play defence and hit the glass. |  | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 31 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 11 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +2 +/-2Pat’s value to this team goes beyond a box score. He’s a very calm player on both ends and does a great job communicating on defence. When he’s making his shots from three, the Raptors have been ultra-successful. As per @SNStats, the Raptors are 9-0 when Patterson hits three or more 3s. |  | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 32 MIN | 4-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | +8 +/-Offensively, solid stuff from Ross. Not a great shooting percentage, but it was decent in comparison to the rest of the Raptors wing players. His off-ball defence leaves a lot to be desired, but Ross did a good job containing dribble penetration when his check attacked. |  | |||||||
 | Louis Williams, SG 29 MIN | 1-12 FG | 9-10 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -2 +/-You have to live with Lou’s flailing attempts to draw free throws, but I think he went overboard, especially in the fourth quarter. His drifting three-point attempts are obviously bad shots, but the negative impact is only compounded when he takes those shots with no rebounders near the hoop. |  | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey Have to credit Casey for mixing the line-ups, even rolling with a super-small group led by Patterson at the 5-spot. But he still neglected to build the offence around the bigs who had a clear advantage. Riding with the bench was probably the wrong decision too; I get that they were successful, but having DeRozan or JV attacking an exhausted Bucks group could have been more effective. |  | |||||||
Three Things We Saw
- The fans attempted to start the wave. One could argue we deserved this loss.
- Ton of camera time for your boy Patrick Patterson lately. He’s getting a ton of those one-on-one interviews.
- OJ Mayo got ejected for straight-up yelling “fuck you” to a referee’s face in the second quarter after attempting to draw a foul on a rip-through move. The Bucks only had nine players to start, so I’m sure Jason Kidd was happy to see Mayo get tossed.
