The Toronto Raptors hit the road Wednesday after tying their first-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks at one game apiece. The series is shaping up to go down to the wire, but the tone from writers and analysts covering the Bucks remains quite calm, given how Milwaukee was able to repeatedly come back on Tuesday night to turn what could have been a blowout into a nail-biter.
Here’s what the Milwaukee papers and blogs are saying about the Raptors-Bucks series after Game 2:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel—Denying Giannis: Raptors make it tougher on Bucks star
The resolve of the Raptors was clear.
They were determined to keep Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the paint, or at least make him take difficult shots when he did get in the lane.
Toronto’s success in that area Tuesday night helped it even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series against Milwaukee, even though the Raptors still had to struggle for a 106-100 victory at the Air Canada Centre.
In Game 1 on Saturday, the Greek Freak was 9 for 12 on shots in the paint. But he was just 5 of 14 on those shots Tuesday.
And when the game was on the line in the final minute – with Toronto leading by two points – the Raptors defense held strong and made him pass the ball rather than driving for a potential tying basket. Instead, Khris Middleton had to rush an 18-footer and missed.
“I saw (Kyle) Lowry falling down, and I saw a guy coming, so I knew somebody was going to be open and that’s why I swung it to Malcolm (Brogdon),” Antetokounmpo said. “Khris took a shot but it just did not fall for us.”
BrewHoop—Bucks’ Late Surge Falls Just Short in Game 2
Kyle Lowry snapped out of his funk, hitting the pull-up dagger over Brogdon late in the game, and 22 points and five assists. DeRozan played more efficiently too, going 9-18 to hit 23 points and seven rebounds.
Toronto was deadly sharp from deep all night, ending at 14-29 (48.3%) to Milwaukee’s 47.1% on 11 makes. Both teams had identical points in the paint (30) and fast break points (12), and nearly identical turnover marks. Toronto snapping back from deep helped offset Milwaukee’s advantage with 12 offensive boards and 10 more shot attempts than the Raptors. Unfortunately, the late game work of Giannis wasn’t enough to overcome some of the ludicrous shotmaking DeRozan and Lowry had down the stretch.
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Journal Sentinel—Bucks rookies not awed by playoff pressure
Not too many rookies are expected to make a big impact in this year’s playoffs, although 19 have appeared in games so far. Taurean Prince started at small forward for Atlanta in its series-opening loss to Washington and contributed 14 points and six rebounds. Former Kentucky player Andrew Harrison has played for Memphis in its first two games against San Antonio and is averaging six points a game. Paul Zipser has played a nice role off the bench for Chicago and scored 16 points Tuesday as the Bulls took a surprising 2-0 lead in their series against top-seeded Boston.
But Brogdon, a strong candidate for the league’s rookie of the year award, is tops on the list of those first-year players working in the postseason. And the Bucks are the only playoff team to have two rookies in their starting five.
“We expect the same composure,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said of the 24-year-old Brogdon. “He’s done that for us all year, being able to keep guys calm. He’s a rookie and this is his first playoff series. But his calmness and the trust throughout the lineup helps him.”
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Taking a peak outside of Milwaukee, the U.S. national media has been weighing in on the Raps-Bucks series as well, with mixed emotions.
On TNT’s Inside the NBA, panellist Shaquille O’Neal said prior to Game 2 that the Raptors were the most likely top-four seed to be upset in Round 1. After Toronto’s 106-100 win, the Big Diesel doubled down on his statement and said that he doesn’t trust Kyle Lowry to string together strong performances in the post-season (around 1:35 mark).
Over on ESPN, they’ve updated their BPI (Basketball Power Index, an algorithm that predicts outcomes) and are favouring the Raptors heavily in this series.
Also, because why not, here’s Gus Johnson of FOX Sports calling Lowry’s game-clinching jumper:
