Quick Reaction: Bucks 128, Raptors 112

Gradey got the start tonight! However, he looked like a deer in headlights out there early. Some mistakes on defence, and somehow Lillard forced him to pick up the ball on offense. He had to start being more active if he wanted to be successful in this game. We saw a glimpse of this in the second quarter, coming off an off-ball screen for the quick catch and shoot mid-range. His defence was also not the greatest tonight, early in the second, he played lazy defence and didn’t rotate leaving an open Brook Lopez in the paint.

The key for Siakam to be successful in this game is to play in the post when he can and penetrate the paint. When he did these things early in the first, he would easily pick up the assist or score a layup. However, it just looked like he vanished when we needed him most as the game went on. I think it was a mix of him not getting touches early on, but also, he stopped being as aggressive and settling for jumpers instead of attacking the paint. That just cannot happen, especially when trailing to teams. As one of the leaders of the team, you have to set an example and help keep the energy up.

Jakob started off the game with some defensive mistakes, like a three-second violation and leaving shooters open. He also missed some easy layups. He just couldn’t pick it up in the first, half lacking energy and allowing Dame to get easy layups. This is probably why he got benched to start the second. With Giannis out, the Raptors bigs should be feasting in the paint and this just wasn’t the case. He started to pick it up late in the fourth, running a nice two-man game with Scottie, but to start out the game like that wasn’t acceptable.

Scottie continues to be the bright spot on this team. I loved seeing how Scottie started off the game, playing very aggressively. He went at Middleton in the post, hitting a three, going after his own missed shot for the offensive board. For Scottie to have a good night, it was the same as Siakam, attack the paint and that’s exactly what he did. Scottie was relentless tonight with his scoring, always finding a way to get to his spot and slash right to the basket. Even when the team was down big, his energy remained high. Barnes had some beautiful passes to Jakob in the fourth, the pick and roll between them really started to flow.

Dennis was looking to bounce back from his previous performances while taking on the challenge of guarding Dame. However, Dennis was struggling in the first half to get it going. Throwing some avoidable turnovers and forcing some shots up. That’s one of the biggest reasons why Dennis struggles, in the other games in which he had stellar performances, he was letting the game come to him. It doesn’t seem like that was the case.

Right off the bat, Flynn impressed me with his confidence early on. Hits a pump fake, fakes the drive, then goes to the step back open three. Even though it missed, it’s good to see that he’s not afraid to take those shots. Eventually, you must start hitting those shots. Flynn had a few open threes that he just couldn’t convert on. Flynn did start to come alive a little bit in the fourth, but without being able to hit the shots from beyond the arc, it wasn’t enough.

Boucher, I like the attempt but the behind-the-back in transition can’t happen again. Aside from that Boucher seriously struggled this game offensively. I like that he was crashing for the boards whenever the ball went up, rebounding has been a problem for the team this season. He grabbed two offensive boards in the fourth and put the ball back up immediately.

The Raptors needed Precious to come into the game and provide what Jakob couldn’t early on. To start off the second, Precious immediately received the ball in the post and backed his man down for the easy score. He also provided some great defensive energy with a block in the second, charging back with the transition defence. He also provided the team with some solid offence off the bench. Going forward in the season, his offence should continue to improve, providing the team with quality minutes.

I noticed there were points on defence, where it looked like Otto’s controller died. He wasn’t active, wasn’t moving. He’s got to have some more energy, no reason why Precious gets the block, and Dame gets the rebound instead of Otto. 11 minutes played and no shot attempts?

He had a great transition dunk in the second, surging some momentum back into the team. I would hope as the season progresses, McDaniel’s offence starts coming to him and he can start knocking down the more open shots and using his size to attack the basket more often. He did hit a three tonight, which is a nice sight to see but if he can make it a trend, would be even better.

Garbage Time.

Garbage Time,

Garbage Time.

Disappointed with Darko’s coaching tonight. The last time the Raptors matched up against the Bucks, they were targeting Lillard on defence, constantly putting him in the pick-and-roll. Tonight, the Bucks actively hid Lillard on defence, you have to continue to target him. Even if it means running Dennis at the one, Scottie at the two and Siakam at the three. Players can easily take advantage of him on defence, even if you were to include him in the pick-and-roll. Also, I didn’t understand why Siakam wasn’t getting touches early on. It took a while for him to even get the ball to get going.