Milwaukee Bucks: Revisiting 2017 playoff series with Toronto Raptors

By Jordan Treske | May 13, 2019

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 27: (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

With this year’s Eastern Conference Finals finally set, we look back at the Milwaukee Bucks’ history with the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs and reflect on what has changed for both franchises in the time since.

After a few days of waiting as well as resting and recuperating, the Milwaukee Bucks now know that in order to book their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1974, they must go through the Toronto Raptors.

Thanks to superstar Kawhi Leonard sinking an all-time game winning shot, the Raptors sunk the Phaildelphia 76ers with their 92-90 Game 7 victory Sunday night to advance to their second Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history. With that, the Bucks and the Raptors are set to reheat their playoff rivalry with one another, only this time coming with greater stakes than their previous postseason clash.

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Of course, the one and only series that the Bucks and the Raptors have shared together is arguably still fresh in the minds of both fanbases as it was only a little more than two years ago.

It was Toronto who ended up prevailing, but not after a hard fought six-game first round series that was capped off by an unforgettable second half comeback from the Bucks that ended up short of crossing the finish line in hopes of extending it to a Game 7.

As it turns out, the Raptors’ own playoff run would end in humiliation a round later as their rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who they met in the East Conference Finals the previous year, ended in a four-game sweep that was determined by a 62-point differential.

It may only be two seasons since both teams last met in the playoffs, but the roster composition and overall makeup for the Bucks, as well as the Raptors, couldn’t be more different, save for key exceptions.

While the Bucks of two years ago don’t bear a passing resemblance to their 60-win selves from this year, the one omission in that is their superstar and leading MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The then-22-year-old’s All-Star breakout season continued into the playoffs where he averaged 24 points on .536/.400/.543 shooting splits, 9.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals for the series and his herculean 46-and-a-half minute performance in Game 6 provided a defining image of how dependent the squad’s success was on its young star.

What informed that was the key injuries the Bucks endured through that year. Jabari Parker was lost to a torn ACL for the second time in three years and while he made his return from a torn hamstring tear near the beginning of February, Khris Middleton was notably less than 100 percent throughout the series after having dealt with a severe strep throat, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe detailed in his profile on the All-Star swingman earlier this year.

Now only four players from that series are still on the Bucks’ roster heading into the Conference Finals between Antetokounmpo and Middleton as well as the returning Malcolm Brogdon and reserve wing Tony Snell. And obviously the biggest difference comes on the bench as it’s been Mike Budenholzer who has been able to unlock the potential of a perennially promising Bucks team in numerous ways that his predecessor, Jason Kidd, simply could not.

The Raptors, on the other hand, have undergone a radical transformation in hopes of advancing to the Finals for the first time in franchise history and shedding their storied playoff shortcomings in the process. And that obviously starts with the blockbuster acquisition of Leonard from last summer, who was acquired, along with Danny Green, in exchange for their franchise scoring leader in DeMar DeRozan.

As if his game winner last night wasn’t proof, Leonard’s stewardship of the Raptors gives them a superstar cache and a proven playoff difference maker that DeRozan struggled to provide year after year after year.

The constant for the Raptors has been their long-standing veteran point guard, Kyle Lowry. The 33-year-old’s own erratic postseason play historically hasn’t been lost on anyone as its extended into this year’s playoff run and neither is his durability at this point in the season.

Along with Lowry, the three remaining holdovers from Toronto’s roster back in their previous playoff duel with the Bucks to this year is Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell and Fred Van Vleet (Most Improved Player candidate Pascal Siakam didn’t play a single second in the 2017 series against Milwaukee).

Like the Bucks, the Raptors also made a high-profile coaching change following last season as they replaced 2018 NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey in favor for first-year head coach Nick Nurse, who has gone on to helm Toronto to a 58-24 record this season. It also should be noted that the Raptors reportedly chased Budenholzer before he ended up coming to Milwaukee almost exactly a year ago.

In many ways, the Bucks and the Raptors are more similar than they are different, and that goes beyond the fact they were separated by two wins from each other. They both have undergone major changes, both in terms of their roster construction as well as the staffs that are tasked with putting the pieces together, all in the name of chasing lasting success in either quite some time or none at all.

Sure, Milwaukee’s sudden rise from first round knockout to title contenders may still spark doubts from those who place a premium on previous playoff experience. Meanwhile, the Raptors’ season-long overhaul, which included acquiring veteran big man Marc Gasol, has led to questions regarding their cohesion and consistency that simply hasn’t been a pressing question for the Bucks this year.

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It’s incredibly fitting for the East to be decided between the two teams that have lapped the competition throughout the conference. Now all that is left is for both teams to rely on the blueprint that has gotten them here to determine who advances to the Finals in what is sure to be an entertaining, thrilling next chapter in this playoff rivalry.

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