  | P. Siakam 23 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-4 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +2 +/- His defense is coming along so quickly, it’s really a thing of beauty to think on where he may be, say, next year. Spent heavy time on Antetokounmpo in the third quarter and did a pretty terrific job forcing extra screens or late passes. His energy in transition is palpable, and the Raptors have already learned to look for him leaking out or with early position established underneath. | |
  | D. Carroll 26 MIN | 4-9 FG | 4-8 3FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | +9 +/- Whatever the Raptors are doing for Carroll’s knee, I would like them to do for my ailing plantar fasciitis. He looks like a different player the last week or so, at both ends of the floor. He’s a big part of why the team appears to be moving more fluidly on offense (more on that below). And he’s knocking down open jumpers, bringing his 3FG% back north of league-average and trending toward his recent career norms. | |
  | J. Valanciunas 31 MIN | 6-11 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +5 +/- The Bucks are an interesting matchup for him, because he can’t just bully his way to rebounds but he can also defend their bigs for the most part. The Raptors need to help him on the glass in situations like this. He tried doing it himself in the third after a weaker offensive first half, and the results were pretty terrific. That illegal screen call on him late was bogus, as his arm was hooked. | |
 | K. Lowry 37 MIN | 7-13 FG | 4-6 3FG | 1-1 FT | 5 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 19 PTS | +5 +/- What do you even say at this point? He was hitting ridiculous threes early on and then basically decided at the end that the Raptors weren’t going to lose this thing when he hit that monster triple. Has really settled into his role as the team’s No. 2 scorer every night, using DeRozan’s gravity to become a lethal knock-down threat and to turn his defensive intensity up even higher. These two are my favorite tag team short of The Revival. | |
  | D. DeRozan 35 MIN | 9-18 FG | 0-2 3FG | 8-10 FT | 7 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 26 PTS | +4 +/- Made a terrific defensive play drawing a charge on Antetokounmpo in the first quarter, the Greek’s second early foul. He doesn’t have to be an elite defender, but heady plays like this make a world of difference. Playmaker-mode DeRozan is also a lot of fun, and anyone worried he’d just keep firing when he cooled off should be happy with how he’s responded to quarters or halves his shot isn’t dropping by moving the rock (he’s totaled four or more assists in eight straight). And then of course, there’s the unbelievable shot-making when everyone in the arena knows it’s going to be his shot. Just on another level right now. | |
 | P. Patterson 25 MIN | 3-7 FG | 3-6 3FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +3 +/- It’s kind of funny to see the reaction after Patterson’s games when he shoots well and shoots poorly. The shots dropped in this one, which is awesome. But the improved passing, the key-possession defensive assignments, the switching across multiple guys? That’s all there whether or not his threes fall. And now he’s 10 for his last 20. | |
  | T. Ross 20 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-7 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -5 +/- We live in a world where Terrence Ross got a technical foul. Responded to that with a steal and a dunk in transition. He’s been a terror in passing lanes and poking any poorly protected balls free all season long, finally providing some consistent value even on nights when his 3-point stroke isn’t there. Wasn’t his best showing overall, though. | |
  | L. Nogueira 16 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 4 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +0 +/- I tweeted that I think Bebe may break the shared Ross-Joey Graham record for times fans have been in and out on a guy in one season. Nogueira picked up three fouls in short order once again (one was probably Joseph’s fault), but he also had a pair of great blocks at the rim and made a terrific decision and pass when the Bucks doubled a high screen-and-roll (it led to a missed three, but still). Then Monroe feasted when posting Nogueira up in the second half, but Nogueira’s help defense was really strong. The full Nogueira experience here, good and bad. I wish I could give him a B+ and a D- at the same time. | |
 | C. Joseph 27 MIN | 4-10 FG | 1-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +2 +/- Finally seems to be settling back in to a groove at both ends, and Casey’s extended trust in him was clear here. Raptors tried using him as a screener to get DeRozan on to Terry, but the Bucks just disrespected Joseph as a threat, blowing those up. Not really his fault, just a note I had watching the late-game offense and how the Raptors used him. | |
  | Dwane Casey Once again went to an early hook for Lowry in the first and third after talking about limiting his minutes some before the game (he and DeRozan combined for a reasonable 72 minutes in a tight win). That can work as long as bench groups hold their own. And there’s always money in the banaNorm stand if those bench-heavy groups need a boost. I know some wanted Nogueira to get an earlier hook after another shaky start in this one, but he was helping at the rim well, and Monroe probably would have bullied Poeltl on the block just as much. (And hey, we all wanted more minutes for Valanciunas, right?) The play calls in this one were a lot of fun, outside of the final possession, with Casey opening up a little more as the team’s ball-movement continues to improve. | |
Five Things We Saw
- I’m not sure if the passing and assist opportunity numbers will bear this out, but it’s felt like the Raptors have been moving the ball much more willingly of late than we’re accustomed to. It’s been beautiful, and the number of fun wrinkles they use to get Patterson and Carroll open, so long as the ball-handlers can thread some moderately difficult passes, are things of beauty. In time, consistently finding those shooters will in turn make things easier on the ball-handlers.
- Despite emerging with “only” a five point lead and it feeling like the Raptors didn’t have an answer for Antetokounmpo, that was a really strong first half defensively. The Bucks aren’t a great offense, anyway, and they shot 5-of-15 on threes, but the Raptors really slowed them down, and they don’t have enough options who can reliably create late in a shot clock. The second half went off the rails a bit.
- The game really didn’t have many runs, which you can tell from all of the players having pretty similar plus-minus ratings. This was a fun back-and-forth. Because of that back-and-forth, the Bucks hung around late. I’d complain that the Raptors couldn’t close it out, but as pointed out in the pre-game notes, this is what the Bucks do, and what they’ve done against some elite competition. It was always expected for this one to come down to the wire.
- The Raptors threw a lot of different players at Antetkounmpo and switched pretty freely two-through-four, on or off the ball. With no ideal option to guard him, they trusted a mish-mash of Carroll, DeRozan, Siakam, and Patterson. Norman Powell is giving up not just height but also length for a change, and once again didn’t see the floor. Patterson is probably their best bet for meaningful positions, but I thought Siakam did a nice job, too.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo is so much fun. His length and his blend of skills at both end make him a completely unique player, and he seems to improve by the quarter. The Bucks aren’t there yet, but he’s going to be a lot of fun (read: terrifying) to play against the next few years. 29-6-11 with quality defense, my goodness.
