Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Game 2 Loss To Toronto Raptors

The Bucks Almost Won the Series Last Night

I’m not exaggerating when I say that. I firmly believe had the Bucks taken a 2-0 advantage, there’s no way that they lose the series. I wrote this in my 5 Keys to Beating the Raptors piece, but only five teams have come back after being down 0-2 in the first round (2005 Dallas, 2005 Washington, 2007 Utah, 2013 Memphis, and 2016 Trail Blazers). All time, teams are 18-261 after being down by two games to start a seven-game series.

So while they couldn’t have clinched the series last night in literal sense on Tuesday, this had to feel like a must-win for the Raptors. Big performances and big shots at the end sealed the deal, but it took the Raptors all night to put the Bucks away.

One of my keys for the Bucks winning this series was to come out of these two games with a win. The Bucks have done more than that. They won a game, and proved that it was going to take 100 percent from the Raptors to beat them.

The Bucks didn’t play a perfect game, but they were in there at the end, and if Malcolm Brogdon or Matthew Dellavedova had made a shot at the end there, we could be having very different conversations right now.

This team has come back from being one of the worst teams in January and February, to making one of the most talented teams in the East split their home stretch with them. Now, the Bucks get to go home for the next two games, which are less than 48 hours apart.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Series Opening Win Was No Fluke

The Bucks next take on the Raptors at home on Thursday at 7pm, where they’ll look to once again take the series lead.