Toronto Raptors: 5 keys to 2019 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Bucks

3. Slow the game down

Emblematic of their team name, the Bucks love to get out and run. Milwaukee is playing at a pace of 103.28 possessions per 48 minutes in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Toronto, by comparison, is at 95.58.

A game dominated by transition basketball favors the Bucks. That goes double for Antetokounmpo, who only needs a handful of dribbles to take the ball 94 feet. So it’ll be on the Raptors to make this a half-court oriented series.

That means sprinting back after a made basket, making sure everyone knows their defensive assignments, picking up the ball-handler at half-court, and having someone constantly shadowing Antetokounmpo. Give him space in the open floor and he’s already won.

Like most strategies designed to topple Milwaukee, this is easier said than done. There’s a reason the Bucks finished with the league’s best record of 60-22. They flat-out execute. Opponents know what’s coming, and yet, still have no way of stopping it.

In fact, the Bucks’ only loss this postseason was also the only time they’ve been held to under 100 points. That’s not a coincidence.

Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 7-for-21 in that Game 1 drubbing to the Celtics back on April 28. Boston crowded the paint anytime he drove inside. While it’s difficult not to foul against a player with his frame, you’d much rather have him earn those two points at the free throw line.

That strategy paid off for Boston. Antetokounmpo missed five of his 10 free throw attempts that afternoon. The Greek Freak is a career 74.2 percent free throw shooter, which means there’s no guarantee that he’ll make you pay for committing a shooting foul.