Milwaukee Bucks Preview: Game 4 vs Toronto Raptors

Major Key For Toronto: Move The Ball

As good as they are, the Toronto Raptors cannot rely on Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to win this series for them by themselves. Lowry and DeRozan have struggled with playoff demons in the past, and this series is shaping up to be no less disheartening for those two.

The Bucks defensive scheme makes relying on two players into a big mistake. Milwaukee swarms the ball at all times on defense, not allowing primary ball-handlers to get to the rim when everything is working correctly.

Asking Lowry or DeRozan to charge straight into that is asking them to get past a tall, long primary defender, plus at least one more help defender who is likely to have a seven-foot-plus wingspan. It’s a lot to ask from a 6’0″ point guard or a 6’6″ shooting guard, neither of whom have been able to create much space in this series.

The one glaring weakness of that scheme on defense is that it often leaves auxiliary players wide open, as various Bucks swarm to whoever’s holding the basketball. That’s why corner threes have murdered Milwaukee at times this season, including Game 2 when the Raptors made six of them.

In Game 3 the Raptors combined to make just one corner three, on something like nine attempts. The passing in general suffered, as Toronto’s starting five combined for just two assists, both of which came from Kyle Lowry.

That isn’t just a sign of the Raptors missing shots. The Bucks are a much more pass-happy team, per pass tracking data obtained from NBA.com. Milwaukee’s top three passers have passed the ball over 493 total times through three games, with Giannis leading the way with over 70 passes per game.

The Raptors top three passers have combined for just around 355 passes in the same stretch, with Kyle Lowry averaging less than 54 passes per game. The Bucks are passing up good shots for great ones, while the Raptors don’t move the ball enough to find either.