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

1. Give Leonard some help

Say what you will about Inside the NBA, but Charles Barkley hit the nail on the head during Sunday night’s postgame show.

"“And the thing that bothered me about Toronto…their guys were afraid. They were turning down wide open shots.”"

Few teams rely on their superstar as much as the Toronto Raptors do. Kawhi Leonard is their everything, often rescuing them from offensive stagnation when they need it the most.

That dependence was magnified in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Of Toronto’s 89 field goal attempts, Leonard took 39 of them. Many were off set plays designed for the three-time All-Star.

But several were the result of his teammates passing up quality looks to find Leonard — even if the small forward was fighting through coverage.

He answered the call in commanding fashion. Yet they’ll need more aggressiveness from the likes of Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol if they plan to beat Milwaukee.

The Bucks are allowing just 98.2 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs. And, yeah, you guessed it: They’re No. 1 in that category too. Not only do they offer serious length, but their crisp rotations make it extremely difficult to force them out of position.

Leonard is going to face some smothering double-teams this series. The more his teammates display hesitancy with the ball, the more comfortable Milwaukee will be sending two players at Toronto’s Superman.

Antetokounmpo and Leonard’s collective greatness will likely cancel each other out. It’s now up to each supporting cast to decide who will advance to the NBA Finals.