The Raptors have begun their playoff run in an all-too-familiar fashion. A half-time lead was squandered, and the Bucks rolled to an easy win.
The Toronto Raptors laid another egg, as they say on Broadway when a show opens disastrously. Instead of taking command of their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks with a home victory, the Raptors shot as if drunk in the second half. A respectable lead built by intermission dissipated quickly in Q3, and the final twelve minutes was unwatchable.
There were many culprits responsible for this debacle. Kyle Lowry missed all 6 shots he tried from long range. No one else picked up the slack, and Toronto ended with 5 made 3-balls from 23 attempts, a hapless 21.7% rate.
The single biggest takeaway from this game was confusion as to who was the experienced playoff team, and who were the newbies. The Raptors passed the ball badly, and too much. Milwaukee played an extra-long lineup, and they were reading the minds of our guys. I can’t remember a game in which so many passes were tipped or intercepted. And why Toronto shooters continued to pass up open looks is beyond me.
Bad decisions abound
The Bucks’ kiddie corps surrendered a minuscule 5 turnovers. Rookie Point Guard Malcolm Brogdon outplayed Lowry in every department, which isn’t difficult when our man made 2 buckets.
Raptors starters made four baskets in the second half. The mind boggles.
I think we got out-coached as well. Dwane Casey’s response to the fine game of giant forward Greg Monroe was to double down on small ball. Jonas Valanciunas wasn’t dominanting, but he was mostly able to keep Monroe in check. JV played 9+ minutes of the final 24, while Monroe pulled down 10 of his 15 boards and was plus_18.
Whatever chance the Raptors might have had to mount a comeback in Q4 was squandered early. Casey tried a fivesome without DeMar; it managed one point (even the free throws were clanked) before the Raptors’ only scorer checked back in. Too late.
No good news to be found
There are so many galling data points about this loss that I’m almost at a loss to list them all. The Raptors wasted an off-game by the normally reliable Khris Middleton. If you had told me the Bucks’ second-best player would make 4 of 15 shots, I’d have bet the house on a Raptors win. Instead, realizing his shot was off, Middleton became a facilitator and racked up 9 assists. The Raptors as a team only had 15.
All-World (and all positions) Giannis Antetokounmpo did his thing, pounding down easy buckets in transition after yet another Raptors missed shot or turnover. Is the Greek Freak the fastest seven-footer ever? He ended with 28 points. As a team, the Bucks enjoyed a 17-4 margin on the fast break.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 27 points, but would be the first to admit a 7 for 21 night doesn’t cut it. He was consistently getting to the free-throw line after being pounded on his drives, so some of those misses are understandable, but he also watched some bunnies roll out.
Thon Maker didn’t play like a rookie either. He had 3 blocks, which was matched by Serge Ibaka.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre.
Putbacks: The Raptors are now 0-9 in playoff Game Ones…they scored 32 points in the second half…Lowry was minus_22