The Toronto Raptors resume regular season action against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks Monday night at the ACC following a well-deserved weekend off. The Raptors recorded another set of back to back wins Thursday against the Timberwolves and Friday against the Celtics, and are coming into the matchup winners of 8 of their last 9. The Bucks on the other hand enter the contest after losing 3 of their last 4 games, dropping their record to 11-11.
Below is a statistical comparison of the two teams with over a quarter of the season now played:
All in all, Milwaukee’s statistical rankings reflect their record, as they are roughly middle of the back on both sides of the court. Toronto’s greatest weakness so far appears to be defensive rebounding (Sullinger’s return cannot come too soon), but the Bucks do not appear to be the kind of team to take significant advantage of that.
The last meeting between the two teams in Milwaukee ended with a close Raptors win (105-99), as Toronto’s two-headed monster of Lowry (19, 6 and 5) and DeRozan (26, 4 and 7) held Antetokounmpo (29, 11 and 6) and his squad at bay.
The Raptors begin a five-game stretch in which they can reasonably expect to go undefeated if they remain focused, as their opponents’ cumulative record stands at 44-72. In addition, none of the next five teams they face own a winning record (Atlanta and Milwaukee are both at .500). The Raptors will look to take advantage of the schedule in the next 8 days and make some ground up on their nemesis, the Cleveland Cavaliers, while creating separation from the rest of the Eastern Conference at the same time.
The Bucks had Giannis Antetokounmpo earmarked as their franchise player for some time, but this season he has officially taken the torch and put the team on his back. The Greek Freak is putting up a varied statistical line that has not been seen in the NBA for decades. He’s currently averaging 21.9 points (20th in the NBA), 5.9 assists (17th), 9.0 rebounds (15th), 1.9 steals (8th) and 2.1 blocks (5th) per game. He is as legitimate a stat-sheet stuffer as they come. It’s worth noting he is doing all this while ranking only 28th in the league in minutes.
The second emerging star on the Bucks is Jabari Parker, who is quietly putting together a solid season and providing strong support to Giannis. In the age of the Big Three however, Milwaukee appear to be missing that consistent third piece of the puzzle (as the Raptors are often said to be), with no one on the Bucks averaging double digits in scoring outside their top two players. Depending on his form when he returns from his long-term injury, Khris Middleton may become that third piece.
Despite being favored to make the post season in 2015/16, Milwaukee turned in a below-par season, missing out on the playoffs by a wide margin. To correct the error, they brought in a championship winning veteran from Cleveland in Matthew Dellavedova, and the argument could be made that his presence helped the team, as they’ve won a greater proportion of their contests this season. The Bucks still have work to do, as their current rotation features players like Tony Snell (3rd in minutes on the team), and Malcolm Brogdon (a 2nd round pick and a rookie, averaging the 5th highest minutes on the team).
Projected Lineups
Raptors:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: Pascal Siakam, Patrick Patterson
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl
Out: Delon Wright, Jared Sullinger
Questionable: Bruno Caboclo
Bucks:
PG: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Malcolm Brogdon
SG: Matthew Dellavedova, Jason Terry, Rashad Vaughn
SF: Tony Snell, Michael Beasley, Steve Novak
PF: Jabari Parker, Mirza Teletovic, Thon Maker
C: John Henson, Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee
Out: Khris Middleton
The Raptors have a significant talent advantage, are at home and on a roll. As long as they don’t take their opponent lightly, they should take this one. Prediction: 112 – 101 Toronto.
