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Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Reasons They Defeated The Toronto Raptors

By Josh Cornelissen

Apr 15, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts after a play against Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (notpictured) in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Milwaukee defeated Toronto 97-83. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts after a play against Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (notpictured) in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Milwaukee defeated Toronto 97-83. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 15, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka (9) and guard Kyle Lowry (7) go after a rebound against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka (9) and guard Kyle Lowry (7) go after a rebound against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Raptors missed corner threes

The Milwaukee Bucks play an aggressive, swarming style of defense. When opposing teams run a pick-and-roll — and all but Phil Jackson‘s Knicks do with regularity — the Bucks “show” hard, having the man guarding the screener step up to block the ball-handler from getting downhill.

To cover behind him, the weakside defenders move down into the paint, walling off easy movement. What this opens up is the corners, and on-target passes or quick ball movement around the court can find an open shooter.

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Corner three-pointers are one of the most valuable shots in the NBA, because they are closer than three-pointers shot from higher on the arc. Often the mark of a good, conservative defense is how low the frequency of corner threes they give up is.

For Milwaukee, they would rather give up the occasional “good shot” to limit the primary action a team is running, trusting in the length and speed of its defenders to recover in time.

Against the Bucks Saturday, Toronto had a number of open shots outside the arc, including those juicy corner threes. But they were unable to knock them down. The Raptors’ starters shot just 1-for-13 from beyond the arc and as a team they hit only five, shooting just 21.7 percent.

Jason Kidd is not going to change his defensive scheme now, not after three seasons in Milwaukee. That means those corner threes will continue to be there for the taking. If Toronto wants to right the ship in this series, they should start there.

Then focus on rebounding, scoring and somehow stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Next: 50 Greatest Players of All-Time

No small task after the Milwaukee Bucks announced to the world they belong in the NBA postseason. Game 2 is Tuesday night.

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