Key takeaways from the Toronto Raptors win against the Bucks
By Nickeem Khan
The Toronto Raptors were unable to capitalize on Kyle Lowry’s milestone night, as they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 115-108. The Raptors couldn’t slow down the Bucks offense, which looks like the biggest reason as to why Milwaukee was able to leave Tampa with a win.
However, there were many other contributing factors to explain why the Raptors lost. Here are some key takeaways from the Raptors’ loss on Wednesday night.
Toronto Raptors takeaways: Norman Powell has been amazing as a starter
The safest bet is that Powell will go back to the bench once the Raptors are fully healthy, but his play as a starter is something that can’t be overlooked. Powell was by far the best player for the Raptors, and was he the reason why Toronto was able to keep the game competitive.
Powell finished with 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. In his last 4 games, he’s been averaging 23.3 points per game, proving to be a vital piece on offense for Toronto. The biggest improvement in Powell’s game this season compared to the past is his poise and shot selection on offense, both of which look more refined.
When the Raptors are in need of someone to give them a basket, Norm has risen to the occasion. Whether it’s pull up threes, drives at the baskets, or even kicking out to the open man, Powell has been a great source of offense generation.
However, it’s not optimal for Toronto to depend on Powell for the offense he’s been providing the last few games. The starters will need to step up, to allow Powell to continue playing without pressure.
Toronto Raptors takeaways: Starters need to step up their game
Most times it’s the starters who are the dependable group to bring the energy. Against Milwaukee, that wasn’t the case. When it comes to plus-minus, every single Raptors starter was negative. The loss of OG Anunoby clearly hurt this team on both ends of the floor.
An area of concern for Toronto has to be the continued struggles of Pascal Siakam. Besides a few great performances, Siakam hasn’t shown what’s expected of him. Siakam, who has been making strides as a playmaker, finished with 9 points and was a team-low -17. Compare that to Yuta Watanabe, who was a +8, and it’s evident to who was more impactful in the game.
It’s great to have the bench perform well, but if the starters aren’t performing to their capabilities, there’s only so far you can go. Aron Baynes needs to be better for Toronto. Baynes also finished with just 9 points and shot 1-7 from three, but the majority of those shots were open. It’s hard to come in and fill the void that Marc Gasol left, but making open shots is a must. In order to be a team that is feared come playoff time, the starters need to play more cohesively.
Toronto Raptors takeaways: Offensive slumps have been the downfall for the Raptors
Scoring droughts have hurt Toronto immensely of late, and they really hindered their attempts in forming a comeback in this one. The Raptors were able to get stops on defense, but their offense was so stale and dry for large parts of this game.
The Raptors finished the third quarter amazingly, cutting the Bucks’ lead to just one. The energy on defense was there to start the fourth, but the lack of offensive productivity prevented Toronto from pulling away early. The Raptors let their struggles affect them, and players as good as Giannis Antetokounmpo will always capitalize on that.
The shot quality began to decrease as they look to quickly make up the deficit, which isn’t ideal for a team that is struggling. Not being able to run the Lowry-Ibaka pick-and-pop has been a huge loss for the Raptors. It’s clear that the lack of a training camp has hurt Toronto, especially with their play calls.
The Raptors will need to do some fine-tuning for their next game against a poor Sacramento Kings defense.
