3 keys for Milwaukee Bucks on back-to-back against Toronto Raptors

How much will the Milwaukee Bucks play DeMarcus Cousins against the Toronto Raptors?

It will be interesting to see how much DeMarcus Cousins plays in this matchup as he joined the Bucks at a time where their two games have been against teams that don’t have much size in their frontcourt.

Both the Hornets and Raptors like to run and that can typically be something that can lead to Cousins not playing a ton of minutes. The Bucks can afford to go small against the Raptors, meaning there might not be a ton of opportunity against them, but he did look good in his minutes against the Hornets.

That being said, Cousins’ deal guarantees in January so it would be in the Bucks’ best interest to see what he can do against a myriad of different styles. Tonight’s game against the Raptors would be a good chance to get him some extra playing time as they’ll be on the second night of a back-to-back and could use some extra minutes in the frontcourt to spell Antetokounmpo and Portis if they’re tired or in foul trouble.

There are more than a couple of players who will enjoy playing alongside Cousins given his toughness, size, and skill, so getting him integrated with his teammates in live game action will be imperative early on.

I have my expectations tempered for what Cousins will bring to the Bucks given his injury history, but he can certainly be useful in spurts for specific matchups when needed. It will be interesting to see how head coach Mike Budenholzer uses Cousins early on against a couple of teams that aren’t necessarily great fits for how he would typically use Cousins.

The Milwaukee Bucks will get to go right back home to play the Miami Hear after this one, so picking up a win here would be a nice boost of confidence heading into a big Eastern Conference clash.