Raptors stifle the Bucks to tie up series: 3 takeaways from Game 4
After one of their worst performances of the year, the Toronto Raptors struck back in Game 4 and leveled out their series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The perfume of urgency surrounded the Bradley Center on Saturday afternoon. Toronto Coach, Dwane Casey, knew he had to do something to give his team a shot in the arm and a fresh look. He opted for Norman Powell joining the starting lineup in place of Jonas Valanciunas.
Powell probably had the best all-around game of any Raptor in the last contest, so as Casey searched for a spark, he wanted to build off of any momentum he could find. It also allowed him to match up Valanciunas with fellow low-post anchor, Greg Monroe.
Both teams got off to a slow start, finding themselves mired in over-dribbling and careless passing, combining for 21 first-half turnovers.
The pace and aesthetics improved in the latter half, but fittingly, in the heart of the Midwest, the scoring of Game 4 resembled a Big Ten rock fight.
After embarrassingly getting held to 77 points in Thursday’s Game 3, the Raptors returned the favor and stifled the Bucks into 76 points and 37 percent shooting on Saturday.
Takeaways
DeMar DeRozan wouldn’t let his team tumble into a 3-1 ravine. In an attempt to erase all 0-for-8 memories from Game 3 and keep Toronto’s playoff pulse from flat-lining, DeMar DeRozan worked for 21 first-half points on 8-of-14 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.
It was what we’ve come to expect from the player who finished fifth in the NBA in scoring this season. DeRozan put on his normal act of dominating in the mid-range, as well as slicing to the rim and finishing through contact. He went on to finish with game-highs of 33 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals, to go along with 9 rebounds.
In a game where Kyle Lowry was average, Serge Ibaka was substandard, and the bench gave them peanuts, the Raptors needed a brilliant performance from DeRozan.
Control the ball, control the outcome. With the exception of Game 2’s almost-neutral 12-11 ratio, each game’s winner came out on top in the turnover battle. (Just because it’s obvious, doesn’t mean it’s not true.) It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this stat shares a direct corollary to victory, as turnovers are a double-edged sword of deflating your own offense while usually leading to easy transition opportunities for the other team.
As inexperienced teams struggle with inconsistency, it’s especially important for them to maximize their chances and not give the ball away. While the Bucks flirt with flashes of becoming a dominant team behind a burgeoning superstar and well-constructed roster, they wouldn’t be the No. 6 seed if they already discovered their stability on a regular basis.
Ball movement will make the difference between a first-round exit or upset. Over the course of the season, the Bucks averaged 25.8 assists in wins and 22.5 in losses. They had an atrocious 16 in Game 4.
The contagious extra pass that sends the defense scrambling and creates open looks went to the wayside. In the place of free-flowing motion and fast-twitch decision making were hesitation and pensivity, leading to go-nowhere drives into the heart of the defense.
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Even after the deflating performance from its team, the Milwaukee faithful chanted “Bucks in six” during the closing seconds of Game 4. Hope springs eternal in Wisconsin. And why not? Fielding a young team bumping up against the precipice of greatness is a strong cause for optimism. Now it’s just up to them to consistently reach it.
To Game 5 in Toronto we go.