Skip to main content

Reply to "Series 3: Raptors vs. Bucks (ECF)"

Tavis Smiley posted:

Michigan...want your breakdown. 

As I said above, which version Siakam shows up will be big. The one that was scared to shoot on Sunday means a quick Bucks victory. I think we'll see more of the regular season Siakam. 

One big advantage the Bucks have is that Bud has a lot more options in terms of lineups. Bud has 9 guys who he can count on. If he needs to, he can go supersize (Giannis, Middleton, Lopez, Mirotic, and Ilyasova) with 4 good 3-point shooters around Giannis. He can also go small (Giannis, Middleton, Hill, Brogdon, Bledsoe) and have the same spacing on offense. He can flip Connaughton into that small unit as well. The Raptors play 7 guys (and really only 6 extensively - the Bucks have 2 guards off the bench better than Van Vliet). Nurse can't really make adjustments if the lineup needs a shakeup. Over the course of the series that will really help the Bucks. 

The Bucks match up very well defensively as well. Bledsoe plays Lowry well and Middleton has at least slowed Kawhi down. Again, it comes down to Siakam. If he doesn't play well it will really allow Giannis to roam. 

I think the wild card in this is that the Bucks have not played the Raptors with Marc Gasol. Gasol is about as close to Brook Lopez in terms of overall skill set as you can get. It will be fascinating to see what the coaches do about this matchup. Gasol seemed to be brought in to have someone to guard Embiid.  Both Lopez and M. Gasol struggle guarding the pick and pop big guys. Ironically, the guy that is likely to hurt the Bucks the most is Ibaka - who is basically a Horford clone. Do the Raptors sit Gasol and play Ibaka more and try to play Lopez off the floor or do they feel they can win the Lopez/Gasol matchup and force the Bucks to adjust? Do the Bucks sit Lopez and force Gasol to guard Mirotic on the perimeter ?

Just a few thoughts. I'd be interested to see what others think. 

×
×
×
×