It is an Eastern Conference finals matchup between Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks, in Scotiabank Arena, Toronto. Game 3 gave us some intrigue in this series as the result became 2-1 (Milwaukee leads), so please review our thoughts, here below about Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks NBA match.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto should be excited for game 4 as they are coming after a hard-fought, double-overtime win. Also, Raptors are playing in front of their home crowd which somehow forces them to play with high intensity on both sides of the court.
Last game, Raptors lock-downed Milwaukee’s leaders which allowed them to gain control in late-game situations. The offense was not that good, Kyle Lowry was sent to the bench early with 6 fouls, but this defensive work led them to the victory.
A huge part of this win was Kawhi Leonard. He showed why he is being called the best two-way player in the league right now. His scoring was, as usual, high and he defended against opposing team’s leaders very well. An interesting fact is that Giannis Antetokounpmo is shooting 4-16FG while being defended by Leonard. This stat-line shows us that the Greek Freak is not unstoppable.
Toronto does not have any major injuries.
Toronto’s best players this series: Kawhi Leonard (32.7ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.7stlpg), Kyle Lowry (18.7ppg, 5.3rpg, 3.7apg), Pascal Siakam (16.0ppg, 6.0rpg, 2.0apg).
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee had an upset game on Monday. But this is not a team that gives up when hard times come. They are playing on the road, after all. It will be very interesting to see how Bucks will show up in this game.
Last game, Milwaukee’s leaders in Giannis and Middleton were not having a good night. However, their bench stepped up and they managed to come to double overtime game. They need to fix some offensive playsets.
Overall, this series, Bucks were scoring quite well. Last game, was a little exception as they scored 96 points in regulation. This was because Giannis and Middleton had a terrible night as they scored 21 points combined. Until this game, Antetokounmpo averaged 25ppg alone. However, their bench stepped up. Brogdon and Hill scored many points, but as we see this did not help Bucks to grab a win. If Milwaukee wants to win, they need to depend on their leaders, but not role-players. Of course, if these leaders are having a bad scoring night, they have to slash through defenders and create open shots for the others. This is the only way to win playoff games if your leaders are struggling.
Bucks do not have injured players.
Milwaukee’s best players this series: Giannis Antetokounmpo (22.0ppg. 18.0rpg, 6.0apg), Brook Lopez (17.0ppg, 7.0rpg, 2.0apg), Malcolm Brogdon (16.3ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.0apg).
H2H
So the last game gave us more questions than answers. Many people say that usually game 5 is the pivotal game of the series, but in my opinion, this game will show us if we are going to see some more fight or if the series is over. This is a must-win for both team because if Toronto losses then it is over, but if they win, they will take control of the series.
So because of that, we should see some physical fight, Kawhi should be overtaking the game as he always does and if Giannis won’t find himself in game 4 it could be crucial for Bucks chances to win. As we know, Toronto’s crowd is fired up when the biggest games come, so I expect a hot game, with many mini-fights and technical fouls. It will be an ugly game from a basketball fan perspective, but NBA fan should love it.
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