Quick Reaction: Bucks 93, Raptors 97

I would like the Raptors to win their 1st game at home since *checks notes* OCTOBER 29TH
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) December 3, 2021

Sheesh I had no idea it had been that long. Mission accomplished.

Bucks

Final
Box Score

Raptors

P. Siakam35 MIN, 20 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 9-18 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 6 TO, +6 +/-

Great all around first half from Pascal. There was one possession where all five Bucks were hounding him in the paint. Kicked it out and the ball swung for a three. Nothing on the stat sheet there, but just overall great unselfish play. I would have liked to see Pascal bring that same aggressiveness in the fourth when the Raptors lead was dwindling before Fred came in. Also has to do something about the routine foul trouble (he’s had at least 5 in three straight games). Just needs to play a full game more consistently. The spin move on Pat Connaughton to put the Raps up 4 was vintage. More of that please.

B-

P. Achiuwa35 MIN, 6 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, +5 +/-

Not news to anyone that Precious has trouble finishing at the rim. Had a bizarre bobble early that even humoured Nick Nurse. Missed a wide open layup on an offensive board in the second where he dropped his head in disbelief. But then he got a transition dunk from Fred VanVleet. I respect the persistence. Better in the second half for sure. Great block in the third quarter. Got under Bobby Portis’ skin a bit? That pin block on Jrue Holiday under a minute left was big. Those two fouls at the end were tough.

B+

S. Barnes39 MIN, 13 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 5-9 FG, 3-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-

So it appears its way easier to convince Scottie to take threes than DeMar DeRozan (no shade, it was just funny to see Deebo try and take threes when begged to and his foot would still be on the line). All of Barnes five shot attempts in the first half were behind the arc, and he made three of them. Also developing chemistry with Siakam. Beautiful transition assist where Scottie was kind of off balance, and a nice post feed over the top of the defence. Perfect read. His first two was a smooth fadeaway in the post. I don’t know how the hell he made that double clutch shot over Connaughton with 2 minutes left. You can count on Scottie to get a hand on some long offensive boards, which he did at the most crucial time after Achiuwa missed two free throws.

F. VanVleet39 MIN, 29 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 9-17 FG, 5-10 3FG, 6-6 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, +9 +/-

Very quiet first half from Freddy, which is fine, because he knows when to look for his shot. As you would expect, he was more assertive in the second half. Three treys (13 overall points) in the third quarter. The Raptors looked like they were going to blow their lead until VanVleet single handedly orchestrated a 7-0 run in the 4th. Mix in a couple of key assists and then somehow split two defenders for a layup with some serious balance. The calming presence at the line to seal it (and the ensuing timeout calming Achiuwa down).

G. Trent Jr.34 MIN, 8 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 3-16 FG, 2-10 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, +4 +/-

A little rusty offensively returning from his two game absence, but its just refreshing to see how much he hounds the ball. Tried to go at the whole Bucks defence in the third quarter and Bobby Portis swatted the hell out of his shot. Got a big stop on Jrue in the 4th.

C. Boucher12 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/-

It’s painful writing about Boucher sometimes. That wide open layup he missed in the third quarter felt like the epitome of his season. He did get a couple of buckets after that.

B+

Y. Watanabe10 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-

Yuta had a corner three that helped Toronto get some separation late in the second quarter. He’s great at being the weakside help defender in the paint. Another massive corner three in the fourth after Milwaukee cut the lead to a one possession game.

C+

D. Banton14 MIN, 2 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/-

Didn’t like the possession early second quarter where Dalano got the offensive board, didnt pass to Scottie and basically held the rock the entire 14 seconds before throwing up a low percentage shot Collin Sexton style (this is shade). I like his activity on the offensive boards.

S. Mykhailiuk19 MIN, 7 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 3-8 FG, 1-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/-

Shooters shoot right? Only way to get out of a slump, so I liked that Svi was looking for his. He’s due for a four threes type of game.

Inc

I. Bonga3 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-

Got a little three minute stint at the end of the third quarter. Hard to judge off that.

Nick Nurse

The second chance points were a concern again. Honestly that’s the only reason Milwaukee was still close. That Banton/Svi/Bonga/Yuta/Boucher (help us please) lineup at the end of third was something. Toronto was outscored 10-4 through that stretch till the early 4th when Fred came back in. The Raptors then immediately went on a 7-0 run, leading to a Bucks timeout. So again, how to you manage Fred’s minutes if you want to win?