Three — Fearless: Pascal Siakam was nothing short of sensational on both ends. Defensively, Siakam looked entirely comfortable both as a help defender at the rim, or switching onto Antetokounmpo in isolation, and he played the gaps beautifully. Offensively, Siakam picked the Bucks apart in the pick-and-roll. With the Raptors shifting to a smaller starting five, Siakam has to be the screener, which actually makes life easier for him. He found gaps in the defense to score two floating push shots, which sent Brook Lopez to the bench early in the third quarter. In crunch time, Siakam broke the Raptors’ scoring drought with a driving and-one layup, schooled Giannis’s brother with a drop step leading to a blow-by drive, and flipped the pick-and-roll with Fred VanVleet screening to create another open driving lane for Siakam.
There are all sorts of caveats in the Raptors’ mini-sweep over the Bucks. Jrue Holiday, one of the best perimeter defenders in the world, missed both games. It is a lot easier to aggressive attack DiVincenzo or Bryn Forbes than Holiday. As well, Lopez, who has given the Raptors fits as a rim protector in the past, played just 20 minutes Thursday. That was mostly because the Bucks lost his time on the floor by 11 points, with the Raptors’ speed leaving him flummoxed, but one wonders what might have happened if the Bucks would have accentuated him a bit more in their offence.
In addition, the Bucks are experimenting with different schemes far more than they were last season, and they are certainly in a discombobulated state right now as losers of five straight. Particularly in the first half against the Raptors, they gave off the vibe of a team preparing for the vaunted players-only meeting.
With all that said, in both games, the Raptors looked like the more cohesive team, one executing a game plan as opposed to trying to make a bunch of individual plays to stem momentum. To match Milwaukee with 42 points in the paint and 23 free-throw attempts is something that just wouldn’t have happened previously.
“I just thought we did a good job both games of not forcing it down there, making Brook and Giannis have to move and defend multiple actions, small ball,” said Norman Powell, who led the Raptors with 29 points and was second to only Antetokounmpo in the game with eight free throws. “They weren’t switching too much until later on in the second half, so forcing them to rotate and opening up the driving lanes off consecutive drives and kicks and re-attacks.”
In the past, the Bucks’ size in the paint has often spooked the Raptors. There have been quite a few games in which the Raptors big men inevitably took a bunch of long jumpers, because that is what Milwaukee’s defence is designed to allow. Serge Ibaka went 4-for-16 on 3-pointers over two losses in the 2018-19 regular season, and then 1-for-10 in a loss last February. Earlier this season, the Bucks coaxed Aron Baynes into seven attempts from deep in a Raptors loss. He hasn’t taken more than four in any other game and is shooting 22 percent for the season. It’s not how you want to live.
If you are a big believer in tone-setting, those first few possessions meant something. The Raptors did not start a true big man, which naturally made the 7-foot Lopez have to creep out further than he prefers. The Raptors did what they could to put him in that position again and again.
Meanwhile, even without Lowry, the Raptors’ offence kept clicking. With Bembry in the starting lineup, Nurse chose versatility on defence and low-usage smarts on offence. The beneficiary seemed to be Powell who has been outstanding in a starting role this season and was especially so in the first quarter and he went off for 15 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting including three made threes.
But it was Toronto’s adherence to their defensive principles that set the tone.
“It doesn’t really start with defence. As I’ve mentioned you have to really take care of the basketball. They are so great turning turnovers into fastbreak buckets. You have to take rhythm shots on offence so that your team is not putting itself in a half-second or full-second delay on whether they can get back or not,” said Nurse before the game. “So, it starts with that. Then you really have to hustle back and try to use a minimum of two, sometimes three guys, to slow Giannis down in transition so he can’t get to the rim.
“Then obviously the next step is if you do that he’s usually kicking it out to a pretty good shooter so you have to peel out as fast as you can and start playing from there. Now, that’s part of it to get all that done to get them in the half court and then there’s several little schemes we like to do when they get in their halfcourt game as well. It’s a lot. It’s a lot for our players to do. They got tremendous size and length and athleticism and a lot of shooting so it’s quite a list of things you have to get done to be successful against this team at the defensive end.”
By the time Toronto headed into the half leading 58-41 – a season-low for the Bucks on their way to a season-low score for a game. Antetokounmpo had four field goals on eight attempts, but three second-quarter turnovers. Toronto was able to contain Kris Middleton as well, holding him to 2-of-7 shooting in the half and five turnovers on his way to 13 points for the game. For the half, the Raptors turned 10 Bucks turnovers into 18 points, and 24 points off 15 turnovers for the game.
The Raptors were able to hold on in the second half, although it got tense at times. They showed that even without Lowry they can beat one of the league’s best teams and handily at that.
Can they build on it?
That’s eluded them at times this season, but they keep giving themselves chances.
Stat That Stood Out I’m going to go with Norman Powell for this one. Yet again, the man who the Raptors selected with a draft pick that was sent to them by the Bucks for Greivis Vazquez, torched the Bucks. He’d put up 15 points in the first quarter and continued to exemplify his worth throughout the remainder of the game. There’s something about the Bucks that gets him really going. Each time the Raptors play Milwaukee, it seems as if he is always a menace — and he was with 29 total points. Maybe it’s the fact that the Bucks made that trade, but man, talk about a Bucks killer.
Save for a couple minutes of exhausted white-knuckling, everything about the Raptors’ second-straight double-digit win in Milwaukee came with the kind of ease that’s borne out of repetition. Against teams with less rigid coaches, the process of learning all there is to know about the opponent might take longer than two games, if a full understanding is even attainable. Mike Budenholzer doesn’t operate that way, though. Even their attempted curveballs spin into the dirt and hit the backstop.
Toronto’s grasp of the Bucks’ eminent predictability is why they won so comfortably on Thursday. Against the Bucks drop defense that has so magnificently covered up Brook Lopez’ one-dimensionality for years, Toronto hit the soft spots. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam eagerly hammered the mid-range — an area of the floor this top-10 scoring edition of the Raptors is far better equipped to attack thanks to some key internal development. Understanding the Bucks’ fear of shots at the rim, Toronto’s playmakers drove and kicked to shooters with daylight, and made use of whip smart passes in close to dodge lurching arms.
Milwaukee, to their credit, is trying to adapt with the times a little this year. Switching has been a bigger part of their defensive style, and they leaned on it heavily late in the game after Lopez was more or less played off the floor by a series of wet Siakam 10-foot floaters. The thing is, the whole switching thing falls apart when Bryn Forbes, Donte DiVincenzo and Bobby Portis are key cogs in your lineups. Practice is well and good, but you don’t need reps to learn that Forbes can’t guard Siakam one-on-one. As it turns out, Khris Middleton can’t do a thing about OG Anunoby on switches, either. If they really want to lean into a more pliable style of defending, Milwaukee should consider getting more players who are not ass. What with all the draft picks they definitely have left to deal for upgrades, I’m sure they will find some…
The Bucks’ rote game plan is of course all-encompassing, reaching well past the defensive end all the way to the other side of the floor. Giannis is a hammer, and to him everything is a nail. Except when you try to drive a nail into a cinder block three dudes wide, the hammer is going to shatter after enough swings. Antetokounmpo finished with 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting, and the work Anunoby, Siakam and even Aron Baynes put in to bother him on his drives was entirely responsible for the frustration that eventually saw the defending MVP foul out.
Khris Middleton’s definitely better than he showed in two games against the Raptors, during which he scored just 24 points and turned it over 11 times. But if he doesn’t learn to maneuver through the kinds of aggressive double-teams Toronto threw his way over 96 minutes, the Bucks are surely on their way to another post-season pants-wetting. VanVleet will probably lurk deep in Middleton’s conscience for a few weeks at the very least.
On the topic of predictability, Norman Powell did the thing where he rips the Bucks’ throats out again. Taking a step up in the shot hierarchy with Kyle Lowry out, he was the beneficiary of the extra attention paid to Siakam and VanVleet on their drives. He finished the night with 29 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 on his threes. Thank you once again, Greivis Vasquez.
Now, even if a lot of this game could have been foretold ahead of time, there were some pleasantly surprising elements at play, too. Baynes had perhaps his best game as a Raptor. It seems he’s found a home in the bench unit next to Chris Boucher (who is very clearly more useful as a power forward than a center), and while his defensive rebounding still leaves plenty to be desired, his rim protection — particularly in the fourth quarter — was critical to the Raptors holding off a Bucks push that never really got serious. His +19 on the night was the best on the team. Matt Thomas, hilariously, was second at +13.
They’re 4-0 in the games that he’s missed this season, with wins over Sacramento, Miami, Indiana and now Milwaukee – three of them by at least 10 points, and two of them by 20 or more points. They’ve also won the two games he’s left early – victories over Memphis and Milwaukee, both of them by double-digit margins. They’re an impressive 16-2 without him since the start of last season.
Don’t read too much into that stat. It doesn’t mean they’re a better team without Lowry. It doesn’t speak to his importance to the organization. What it does mean is that when they’re at their best – and, somehow, being down a man or two often brings out the best in them – they can withstand the loss of Lowry, or any of their other regulars.
“He certainly gives us a lot,” Nick Nurse said of Lowry, who was averaging 21.8 points on 59 per cent shooting and 52 per cent from three-point range in his last four games before getting hurt. “I was worried about the defensive side of it. I know that probably sounds silly because he’s one of our primary scorers, but [with] the way he’s been guarding recently – he’s been outstanding – I was really worried. That’s the first thing that somebody’s got to pick up the slack on.”
Defence wasn’t an issue on Thursday, as it would turn out. The Raptors held Milwaukee – the NBA’s second-ranked offensive team – to a season-low 96 points. The Bucks’ all-star duo of and combined to score 36 points – 12.5 points fewer than their season averages – on 13-for-33 shooting. It was the best Toronto has looked on that end of the floor in quite some time.
The margin for error has been razor thin all season, and it’ll be even smaller for as long as Lowry is out of the lineup, but they know they can win games undermanned. The formula is right in front of them.
They know they have to play harder and smarter than they would at full strength, and more often than not they do. Other guys are going to get opportunities and have to be ready to take advantage of them – on Thursday it was DeAndre’ Bembry, who got the start, and Matt Thomas, who logged 17 minutes off the bench, but Flynn should also get his chance. The remaining regulars will have to step up, like does whenever Lowry goes down, and like (29 points), (27 points) and (10 points, including eight in the fourth quarter) did against the Bucks.
“I definitely wouldn’t say [Thursday’s shorthanded win over Milwaukee] surprised me,” said Flynn, who hasn’t been around long but catches on quick. “I think the whole team just has the next man up mentality. Whenever you’re called on, be ready to play, and I think the guys did that tonight.”
In the fourth quarter alone, Fred VanVleet made a big shot to calm the skittish Raptors, Pascal Siakam spun on Giannis Antetokounmpo for a basket while drawing a foul, and Anunoby made that delightful pass to a cutting Bembry for a baseline dunk.
Every time the Raptors needed a big play, they made one, almost always driving into the teeth of the Bucks defence and making the right plays from there.
“That’s something that we talked about, being aggressive, taking it to the rim,” said Siakam, who had 27 points. “We know that if we continue to play within the offence with multiple drives and kicks, you get open shots. I think that’s kind of the idea: continue to be aggressive, drive and play from there. Whatever’s open. If it’s the layup, take it, if not pass it out and redrive.”
Lowry injured his thumb in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game, jamming it in a collision that included Siakam and Antetokounmpo.
Lowry eventually left that game about four minutes into the third quarter with a sore ankle but the thumb worsened while the ankle got better on the day off between games.
He has already been ruled out for Friday’s game in Minnesota, Nurse said.
“I think it probably will keep him out of these two, for sure, then probably we’ll have a little better idea,” the coach said before Thursday’s game.
In Lowry’s absence, the Raptors got a true team effort to run their record to 14-15 on the season.
“We’re not looking at every single game and record and where we’re at,” Powell said. ”I think we’re just trying to play the best basketball we can, and rack up some wins and continue to get better throughout the whole season. Continue to build chemistry. Continue to build our foundation, offensively and defensively.”
Nick Nurse admitted before the game that he liked the way his starting unit Tuesday, which was without a traditional centre, performed but he wasn’t ready to commit to staying small to start.
He said he was still considering two options.
It says here he picked the right one choosing Bembry, and we can’t even be sure what the other option was.
“I did like the small and I did like the off-the-bench big,” Nurse said referring to the small starting lineup and the play of Aron Baynes off the bench after starting most of the year. “And I did like the kind of combination of big late as well.”
The combination of bigs late was having Baynes and Chris Boucher coming off the bench together which enabled Boucher to play power forward and not worry about battling a beast like Lopez to whom he gives up at least 50 pounds.
Bembry is a nice fit with the starting unit because he has exceptional basketball IQ and a defensive willingness that just isn’t as prevalent as you would think in the league.
“I think the biggest concern coming into the game was Kyle,” Nurse said post-game when asked about Bembry. “Kyle had just done a great job on Middleton and he was gone and that’s a big assignment to give a guy that hasn’t started for us all year and guarding an all-star and trying to set the same kind of tone or keep it going from the night before, obviously. He did a good job of working on him.”
Enter the Florida Five — Lowry, VanVleet, Powell, Anunoby, and Siakam.
(Or, as a friend of mine recommended: 5outhern Ice. Look, we’ll figure the name out — I’m open to suggestions.)
The Raptors lineup Nurse trotted out to start against the Milwaukee Bucks has the opportunity to change those identity problems. When those five are on the floor together, the team has a clear, tangible style that makes life hell for its opponents. It also sets off a ripple effect that positively reverberates through the rest of the team. Nurse’s apprehension for completely turning the keys over to this lineup is understandable, but frankly, he’s got a peacock on his hands. At a certain point, you gotta let it fly.
Simply put, this group sucks to play against. A snarling pack of wolves, the Florida Five has no weak link on either end of the ball. They are all fast, athletic, and a little ornery. Defensively, they are switchy and play on a string with one another. On offense, everyone can create a shot, and everyone can hit an open three. There is no reprieve, no hiding a weak defender or sending extra help without compromising another spot.
Starting and closing with these guys sets a tone for both the opponent and the reserves coming off the bench. They will be relentless, they will make their opponent work, and they will do so without a centre. VanVleet, Lowry, Powell, Anunoby, and Siakam have long contributed to the identity of the team. It is now that they must set it as a unit.
In last year’s playoffs, when we first really got a feel for this group, they outscored the Boston Celtics 45-38 overall. A small margin in a small sample, but that is notable in a gritty seven-game-series. This season, the sample is similarly small, and the numbers are similarly positive. In only 81 possessions, the Florida Five is outscoring opponents at a rate of 11.1 points per 100 possessions, holding opponents to 90.1 points per 100, according to the Cleaning the Glass.
The offense has not blown the doors of the opponent yet, but the defense has done more than enough to hold down the fort. With these players, the offense will undoubtedly improve, and while the defense is a tad unsustainable, that they have been so good without a centre should be of note. They showed off their speed and aggression early against Milwaukee, racking up a couple steals in the first few minutes.
Going small like this creates accountability on defense, as an aggressive, switch-heavy defense forces each piece to be on a string. If any player is a little lazy in communicating or rotating, the whole thing falls apart. There is no Marc Gasol waiting on the back end to clean up mistakes. Thus far, this forced engagement has been positive for the Raptors — particularly from Siakam, who was been a tad inconsistent in his approach on D this season.
Fresh off a road win against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors dropped a Black Lives Matter-inspired capsule collection on Wednesday. First seen during training last summer in the Orlando NBA bubble, the limited line can now be purchased by fans on the Real Sports website.
Toronto-based artists Adeyemi Adegbesan and Mark Stoddart designed the merch, with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards local Toronto initiatives and not-for-profit organizations of the artists’ choice.
Assuming Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet are all a part of their long-term foundation, the Raptors look pretty stable. The key decision point will be Kyle Lowry, as the 34-year-old guard hits unrestricted free agency this summer. Outside of Lowry, there are not many players who could reasonably be on the Raptors’ trade block who also move the needle for potential trade partners. Breakout center Chris Boucher could become an interesting test case, but Lowry looks like the focal point.
Why would they be sellers?
Masai Ujiri is acutely aware of what it takes to build a championship-caliber team and while capable, the combination of Siakam, VanVleet and Anunoby likely needs some high-level help to get there. Ujiri has ownership’s trust, which gives him the latitude to guide the franchise this direction if he believes it to be the best course and he originally intended a similarly bold path shortly after taking over in 2013 before the team exceeded expectations.
Why would they reject selling?
The Raptors had a rough start to the year but they are still a dangerous team with a strong foundation in terms of talent and coaching. Furthermore, the bigger problem may be that they are too good to truly tank so the incentive would primarily be a strong return for Lowry. Outside of that, it would take some injuries to lower their floor between now and the deadline to make a strong lottery pick even remotely possible.
Will they be sellers?
It feels unlikely considering they are already back in the playoff mix, but it only takes one team making a surprising offer for Lowry to change that calculus.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
