The Toronto Raptors fall apart in Game 3 of the first round playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks, suffering a tough 77-111 loss on the road. The things will not get any easier for the Canadian side as the game 4 is scheduled to be played again at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Saturday night. The tip-off is set for 3 PM ET.
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks Game 4
LINE: Milwaukee -1.5 (-118); moneyline -122
Total: 195.5 points (-104 over, -104 under)
The Bucks look relentless in Game 3, defeat the Raptors with ease
Despite their playoff seeds, Milwaukee Bucks look like much better team in this series at the moment. Their first meeting on Milwaukee’s home court in game 3 after splitting the pair of matches in Toronto was a complete annihilation of Raptors with 104-77 win, which puts Milwaukee into 2-1 lead. It was a great team effort from young (and playoff inexperienced) Bucks team, where they even didn’t need to exploit their primary star, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, numbers that are below his season averages, but his presence as a leader was felt in this game. Also, he had great help from his supporting cast – Khris Middleton scored 20 points and had seven assists and Gregg Monroe came off the bench to add 16 with seven rebounds. One should not overlook contribution from emerging rookie from South Sudan, Thon Maker, who scored eleven points and was a valuable asset in defense as a rim protector with his height and wingspan.
Honorable mention goes to his rookie fellow, Malcolm Brogdon, who scored only four but added 7 rebounds and 9 assists and did tremendous work on the defensive side of the ball putting pressure on Kyle Lowry. Even six Bucks players ended up in double digits.
Milwaukee even didn’t employ one of their strongest cards, fast breaks and transition scoring, where they scored pedestrian 6 points (Toronto had 19 fast break points). That means that Milwaukee beat Toronto thoroughly with position game and high percentage shooting (they shot 52,7% from the field compared to Toronto’s 34%).
Giannis Antetokounmpo has risen to stardom this season, establishing himself as one of the best all-around players. In 35.6 minutes he spends on the floor on average, he has been averaging 22.9 points per game, while pulling down 8.7 rebound and dishing out 5.4 assists. Greg Monroe has seen his minutes limited, coming off the bench but his contribution to the young Bucks team success has not faded away. Monroe has been averaging very decent numbers, scoring 11.7 points per game in just 22.5 minutes of action. In addition, Monroe averages 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Place: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date/Time: Thursday April 22nd, 2017. 3:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: TNT
Toronto Raptors hope to bounce back and tie the series
Next match could prove crucial for the Toronto Raptors, who, with a loss, could put themselves in a position from which very few teams managed to dig out. Much is wrong with the Raptors game in this playoff match-up, and those problems were fully exposed in Game 3. After being beaten in Game 1 and Game 3 and squeezing out victory in second match, the main question now is – do the Raptors believe they can win this series? They have all the necessary tools, but do they have the mindset needed to pull that out?
Toronto had problems on both sides of the ball in Game 3– their offensive performance was abysmal. Apart from aforementioned awful shooting performance from the field, their 3pt percentage was 27%, they had 15 turnovers and they were heavily outplayed in assists (11 to Bucks’ 29). Milwaukee’s defense with their tall young paint protectors with enormous arm length gave Toronto all kinds of trouble regarding scoring.
Their star player, DeMar DeRozan had one of his worst nights in the career: he finished with eight points while shooting 0-of-8 and had only two rebounds with no assists. He left his game back in Toronto. Kyle Lowry had somewhat satisfying performance, but only if we compare it to those of his teammates. He was 4-of-10 from field which was good for team’s best 13 points on the night (Delon Wright had 13 points also). Serge Ibaka was particularly bad, having just 6 points and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes.
This game was almost over before it started – just a look on the first quarters score tells the story. Bucks, after some great runs like one of 9-0 in the middle of first quarter were up 32-12 after 12 minutes. At one moment in second quarter the score was 48-17 and it was pretty much game over for Toronto from that point on. Halftime score was 57-30, and three quarters into the game the Raptors were still under50 points. Almost whole second quarter was garbage time. The Raptors must find their groove with more contributions from their two All star guards, but also with more team play rather than hero ball from DeRozan and Lowry.
Looking at their stats in the postseason, it all becomes much clearer as why the Raptors have been a totally unrecognizable unit compared to the one from the regular season. Namely, the Raptors are the worst, among all NBA teams, in scoring offense, averaging only 88.7 points per game, while on the defense end they rank 8th, allowing 100.3 points to their opponents. They are dishing out only 16.7 assists per game, which is good enough for the 14th spot. On the glass, they rank 8th, pulling down 42.3 boards per game.
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks Game 3 Trends & Prediction
The Raptors failed to cover the spread for the third straight time. The Raptors were solid in covering the spread during the regular season, but in the postseason they are not doing great job paying off their backers. The Raptors are currently 45-39-1 ATS and 45-40 against the over/under. They total went over the projected points line only once (in the 2nd game), while in the other two games, the Raptors were inefficient offensively, combining for two unders.
The rejuvenated Milwaukee Bucks have managed to cover in both trips to Canada and in the first playoff game in Milwaukee, improving their overall ATS record to 39-46. The Bucks are also 43-40-2 overall against the over/under, but at the BMO Harris Bradley Center they have been very efficient recording 23-17 against the over/under in the regular season. Although they have been playing at a much slower pace as of lately, the Bucks finally exploded for more than 100 points in game 3.
The game 4 is decisive for the Raptors and if they fail to win in this one, their postseason is as good as over. The Bucks on the other side, have played surprisingly well in the first three games of the postseason and it would come as a great surprise if they can continue to play that well in back to back games. Either way, I expect the Raptors, especially their veterans, to wake up and show some of their strengths and take this win. I will also go with the Over in this one.
MY PICK: Toronto Raptors +1.5 (+106)
TOTAL: Over 195.5 points (-104)
