The Milwaukee Bucks will kick off their longest homestand of the 2020-21 season Tuesday night when they host the Toronto Raptors.
It’s been a rough stretch for Milwaukee, who have floundered since firing off a season-high five consecutive wins just a week ago. In their last three games, the Bucks were outplayed by Western powerhouses Phoenix and Utah, and most recently bottomed out in Oklahoma City.
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Against OKC, their offense looked completely out of rhythm. The Thunder stripped them of their identity by limiting them to just 10 fast break points and 40 points in the paint. Quite embarrassingly, the team simply struggled to keep pace with a Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Defensively, Milwaukee looked to be stuck in a wild goose chase, constantly scrambling to the ball as OKC exploited their gaps for easy looks.
Now back at Fiserv Forum, and with an improving Raptors team flying in, the Bucks must stop the bleeding and find their way back into the win column. Toronto comes to town on a losing skid as well, but have nevertheless returned to the postseason picture after an underwhelming start.
So without further ado, let’s look at the three keys the Milwaukee Bucks must do to ensure a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
First key to victory when hosting Toronto Raptors — Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo break down that wall
Nick Nurse has enjoyed an impressive few years as the Raptors’ head coach, but the introduction of the “Giannis Wall” might be his greatest contribution to the league. Trailing the Bucks 0-2 in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, Nurse began lining up three, or even four Raptors defenders around the free throw line with one goal by denying Giannis Antetokounmpo access to his precious paint.
The then-unorthodox shift stymied the one-dimensional Bucks, as they failed to generate alternative scoring and allowed the Raptors to earn four straight wins and an NBA finals appearance.
Working flawlessly on one of the biggest stages, the wall became every team’s defensive counter to Milwaukee’s raging bull. Toronto will almost certainly attempt to replicate that performance on Tuesday, but the Bucks now have the tool to get around it – outside shooting.
Disproportionately keying in on Giannis offers the supporting cast more room to produce. If the shooters can heat up, Toronto will be forced to respect them and break down the wall themselves.
Bryn Forbes has performed well in his four games as a starter, and has the sharpshooting ability to facilitate this strategy. The Bucks sniper is hitting 46.6 percent of his 4.3 3-point attempts per game this season and has recently stepped up in the Bucks’ starting lineup in place of Jrue Holiday. A productive night from him would help everyone eat on Tuesday.
Donte DiVincenzo drilled five triples against OKC, and represents another capable shooter Coach Bud has given the Greek Freak. He’ll look to stay hot as well, lining up alongside Forbes in the backcourt. Adding in the established Khris Middleton, this surrounding army of shooters puts Giannis back in the driver’s seat, with little standing between him and the cup.
Proper execution of this offensive scheme would give the Bucks control on one end, but they’ll need to stop Toronto’s centerpiece to impose their will on the other.