Halftime Thoughts, Game 6: Halfway Home

Please God let this finish tonight, I don’t think my stomach can handle a Game 7.

Signs are positive so far – up 51-38. The Raptors survived the early energy onslaught by the Bucks and Giannis as the latter had Milwaukee’s first 8 points, all at the paint. This had shades of Game 3 written on it for the first few minutes of the quarter, but things soon calmed down, courtesy of, 1) some very effective ball movement which had JV being rewarded in the paint for his flashes, and 2) a bevy of Bucks turnovers. The Raptors held a four-point first quarter lead which is step 1 in not getting blown out.

Dwane Casey end of 1Q interview on TNT. pic.twitter.com/Ty9QtllJUp
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) April 27, 2017

One constant theme in the first half was the Raptors responding to Bucks pressure by having their big man float right into the middle of the paint as a release mechanism (instead of passing back out to the guard on the wing). This slight adjustment put the Bucks under a lot of pressure and created space down the middle.

Ball movement finished by another JV flash to the paint – third possession in a row that's been there. pic.twitter.com/w6t8GaVF77
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) April 27, 2017

The ball movement tonight has been very un-Raptors like, i.e., extremely smooth and beautiful to watch. They’ve also slowed this game down, at times, to an absolute crawl which favors them more than the Bucks. In the halfcourt set, there were many possession where the Bucks just opted for one-on-one play resulting in contested shots. DeRozan and Lowry are both playing smart attacking basketball, and I can’ t think of any forced shots. Defensively, we’ve been solid – only allowing 14 points in the second quarter.

Check this finish by DeMar: