Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Reasons They Defeated The Toronto Raptors

Greg Monroe Cleaned The Glass

The Milwaukee center affectionately known as “Moose” is not known for being an elite rebounder. Only once in his career has Greg Monroe averaged double-digit rebounds and this season he collected just 6.6 rebounds per game in his sixth-man role.

He is a solid, but not elite, rebounding big.

Milwaukee Bucks

Against the Raptors, Moose went to work. With the Bucks’ perimeter defenders forcing misses from Toronto’s stars, Monroe was there to clean up the glass. Playing in the first postseason game of his seven-year career, he pulled in 10 defensive rebounds.

Add in another five on the offensive glass, and Monroe’s 15 rebounds were not only a game-high, but tied for the highest number in the postseason thus far.

Thon Maker started the game and put in a solid 15 minutes altogether, going 2-for-2 from the field and chipping in three rebounds and three highlight blocks.

But it was the steady presence of Monroe off the bench — 14 points to go with his 15 rebounds — who turned in a plus-15 net rating.

Whether Moose can keep this up over the course of a series is a question that cannot be answered. But the fire Milwaukee played with Saturday coursed through their sixth-man center as well and he came through.