The Milwaukee Bucks suffered their 12th defeat of the season Tuesday night, courtesy of a familiar foe, that being the Toronto Raptors.
It was a back and forth game between these two that consisted of 12 ties and 12 lead changes throughout 48 minutes of action as these two teams battled it out until the end. When the final buzzer sounded, the Raptors came out on top with the 124-113 victory over the struggling Bucks.
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The Bucks now find themselves in unfamiliar territory after having lost their last four consecutive games. The last time Milwaukee lost four games straight was in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals against these very Raptors, minus a few select and notable players.
Nevertheless, the Bucks have looked awful in this recent stretch of games, and the level of concern is starting to reach an insurmountable height. The Bucks certainly have some soul searching to do in order to clean up this disastrous losing streak.
Before they get the chance to seek redemption against Toronto on Thursday, here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s contest.
First takeaway from loss to Toronto Raptors — The Milwaukee Bucks continue playing careless basketball without Jrue Holiday
The Bucks have looked deflated in these last four matchups, and it was fully apparent against the Raptors. Milwaukee looked careless controlling the basketball all night on the offensive end, racking up an abysmal 17 turnovers. Defensively, there were undoubtedly stretch where individuals were showing no urgency to get to their spots and slow down Toronto’s 3-point barrage.
This team looks lifeless at times, and a large part of it stems from the absence of starting point guard Jrue Holiday. The guard has been out for all four games during this losing streak due to the league’s health and safety protocols, and the Bucks have looked discombobulated as ever without him in the lineup. Holiday is someone that brings an immeasurable impact on both ends of the floor for this team, along with a sense of confidence that spreads among this roster like wildfire.
The other Bucks have certainly missed him as the losses continue piling up, and hopefully, he is doing well and progressing during his time away from the team. With Holiday out, the Bucks needed strong efforts from other contributors, and they got some off the bench Tuesday night.