The Milwaukee Bucks take on the Toronto Raptors on Saturday evening in what will be Milwaukee’s first playoff game since 2015.
The Milwaukee Bucks are back in the playoffs! Their last playoff game was just two years ago, although with all that’s happened since that bizarre series against the Chicago Bulls it feels like two decades since the Bucks have participated in the playoffs.
Some of the reason for that might be the changing of the guard in Milwaukee. Three of the starters from 2015 are gone, as Michael Carter-Williams, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia have all long since been traded away.
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Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the two remaining starters, and although the names are the same there’s no doubt that both players are much better now than they were in 2015. Giannis scored 11.5 points per game in that Chicago series. He’ll probably double that average against the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto is not an easy opponent. The Raptors are one of the few teams besides the one LeBron is on in the East who have been to the Conference Finals in recent years, as Toronto lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games last year.
The experience and depth of the Raptors makes them a challenge for anybody, especially a relatively inexperienced Bucks squad. To see how either team could jump out to an early lead in the series, we’ll look at major keys for both of them as well as a Raptor to watch in game one.