Bucks upset Raptors in Toronto to kick off series: 3 takeaways from Game 1

The Milwaukee Bucks stole Game 1 on the road Saturday, routing the Toronto Raptors to open their first round matchup.

The Milwaukee Bucks easily handled the Toronto Raptors in Saturday’s debut game to take the driver’s seat in their first-round series. So much for that home court advantage. Although the fans in Toronto certainly brought the energy to the arena, their team didn’t.

A quick look at the box score will show the first half was a tale of two quarters, but the latter half of the contest was all Milwaukee. There were many instances when the crowd was on the verge of erupting, but the Raptors couldn’t sustain any momentum in the game’s waning stages. What’s more, they could only amass 83 points against this season’s 19th ranked defense.

However, Raptors fans can take solace in the game DeMar DeRozan had. He slapped up 27 points and eight rebounds, while being the only guy who could make things happen for most of the game. If the midrange jumper is indeed a lost art, then DeRozan is its Renaissance.

Takeaways

G-I-A-N-N-I-S spells trouble for Toronto

Somebody should give DeMarre Carroll a hug. It’s not your fault, DeMarre…it’s not your fault.

Giannis Antetokounmpo made quite the statement in the opening game of the series, to the tune of a game-high 28 points. He shot 13-of-18 from the field, snared eight rebounds, added three assists, and vacillated between unstoppable and “how is this guy part of the human species.”

Giannis clearly was ready for the big stage, asserting himself and unfurling a cadre of dunks, layups and finger rolls throughout his 38 minutes.

In the post game interview, Giannis said he was “just trying to be in attack mode.” If you’re a Bucks fan, that’s exactly what you want to hear from your Hellenic superstar.

The Raptors are most effective when going small

This isn’t a revolutionary idea in today’s NBA, but the message hasn’t completely made its way to Toronto. For the majority of the second quarter, the Raptors went small with Serge Ibaka at center and were much more effective.

Aside from the obvious of winning the quarter 29-16, Toronto frustrated Milwaukee by spreading the floor and moving on a string on defense.

Dwane Casey should learn from this and think about using Jonas Valaciunas the same way Jason Kidd uses Greg Monroe – as a second unit offensive hub off the bench.

The five-man unit stats back it up as well. Toronto’s starters since Ibaka joined the team posted a plus/minus of -5. Replacing Valanciunas with Patrick Patterson or P.J. Tucker brings that plus/minus number to +2 and +11, respectively.

Unfortunately, Playoff Lowry is back

Kyle Lowry has become known for diverging from his regular season self and coming up short in the playoffs. Playoff Lowry reared his ugly head and continued his Jekyll and Hyde routine on Saturday evening. How long he sticks around will directly correlate with how long the Raptors last in the playoffs.

In 34 minutes of action, Lowry could only muster four points on 2-of-11 shooting (including 0-of-6 from 3), to go with six assists and a pair of rebounds. Yikes.

This type of performance definitely won’t inspire confidence with the Raptor faithful. But if Lowry keeps breaking his fans’ hearts, maybe Drake will make a song about it.

Next: NBA: 2000s All-Decade First Team

With the loss, the Raptors remain winless in first games of opening-round series. The way they played though, looks like this could be another postseason Greek tragedy.