When the Toronto Raptors traded for Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker at the trade deadline, one of the byproducts was that head coach Dwane Casey gained versatility in the process. That’ll prove to be significant in the Raps first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that has experimented with the notion of “position-less” basketball thanks to a roster full of interchangeable parts.
With that said, here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Raptors and Bucks:
POINT GUARD
Milwaukee: Malcom Brogdon*, Matthew Dellavedova, Gary Payton II.
*Denotes projected starter
The Bucks don’t employ a traditional point guard, but have gotten solid production at the position nonetheless. Brogdon, a serious candidate for Rookie of the Year, was drafted as a shooting guard but has spent the majority of his minutes playing lead guard for Milwaukee (According to Basketball-Reference 54 per cent of his playing time took place at PG). And the results have been nice— Brogdon led all rookies with 4.2 assists per game this season and was fourth with 10.2 ppg. But as you can see in this clip, the 24-year old doesn’t need to be dishing to do damage as the primary ball handler.
Brogdon was inserted into the starting lineup in March, shortly after Jabari Parker went down. Prior to that, the role went to Dellavedova, a pesky and solid-if-unspectacular role player whose experience with the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers (particularly two seasons ago, when Delly played 25 minutes per game during their finals run in LeBron’s first season back with the Cavs). Of course, the Bucks often utilize forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has their primary ball handler, and he leads his team with 5.4 assists per game— just another reason why the Bucks’ all-star is so dangerous.
Toronto: Kyle Lowry*, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright, Fred Van Vleet
Lowry has looked great upon his return since sitting out 21 straight with a wrist injury. The three-time all-star had taken his game to another level before getting hurt, particularly from beyond the arc where he hit more than 40 per cent of his triples for the first time in his career (41.2 to be exact) and sunk more than three per game. It’s a small sample size, but in four games playing alongside newcomers Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, Lowry has been effective and efficient while his team went undefeated.
Behind Lowry, Joseph has proven that he can make an impact when he’s on the floor. After struggling earlier this season, Joseph ended up posting career-highs in points, assists, and steals while winding up with his second-best campaign from deep. Joseph especially shone as a starter in Lowry’s absence, and may again be featured in lineups alongside the Raptors all-star, as we often saw during the playoffs last year. Wright also impressed when given playing time this season, but, like rookie Van Vleet, will likely see his role greatly diminished as Dwane Casey shrinks his rotation.
Edge: Raptors.
SHOOTING GUARD
Milwaukee: Khris Middleton*, Jason Terry, Rashad Vaughn
The biggest catalyst in the Bucks turnaround has been Middleton, who missed most of the season to injury and didn’t play his first game until after the all-star break, coincidentally right around the time Parker went down. With Middleton, the Bucks got a talented scorer whose six-foot-eight frame allows him to shoot over most other two-guards and whose length makes him an effective defender as well. He’s settled really nicely as the Bucks’ second-in-command to Anteotkounmpo.
Jason Terry brings championship experience and some degree of intimate knowledge of Casey’s defensive systems thanks to their time in together in Dallas. While he’ll still go off from three-point land every once in a while, Terry’s hardly the scoring threat he once was. Vaughn, too, is a capable three-point shooter but doesn’t see the court very often.
Toronto: DeMar DeRozan*, Norman Powell
DeRozan has been one of the NBA’s most unstoppable scorers this season, finishing the regular season fifth at 27.3 points per game. He’s also improved greatly in a number of areas of his game, like ball handling and facilitating, and on the defensive end. His ability to create shots for himself and to get to the free-throw line (fifth in the NBA at 8.7 attempts per game, while shooting nearly 85 per cent from the charity stripe) will prove to be crucial this time of year. With DeRozan in the lineup it means that (by my count) there are only two teams in the league in which the Raps wouldn’t hold an advantage at shooting guard.
As for Powell, he made the single most important play of the Raptors’ 2016 playoff run and is a reliable performer when handed minutes and responsibility. Yet it remains to be seen what his role will be this time around, given the inclusion of P.J. Tucker on the roster means we likely won’t see DeRozan play as many minutes at small forward.
Edge: Raptors.
SMALL FORWARD
Milwaukee: Tony Snell*, Michael Beasley
Snell logs a fair deal of minutes for the Bucks, but his impact isn’t always easy to measure. He may best be remembered this season for his stunning feat earlier this season in February, when he played more than 28 minutes without recording a single point, rebound, assist, block or steal. Beasley, who I love, has looked decent since returning from a scary knee injury suffered earlier this season and is a roll-of-the-dice contributor in limited minutes. Antetokounmpo, ever the versatile player, sees a good chunk of minutes at small forward as well.
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Toronto: DeMarre Carroll*, P.J. Tucker
Carroll has seen his minutes decrease to around 23 per game since the trade deadline, and he remains a hit-or-miss offensive contributor. The Raps are able to weather the storm even when Carroll has an off-shooting night, which means his impact is mainly felt on the defensive end of the floor. As for Tucker, he’s helped to add a new vibe to the team with the toughness and physicality he brings to the table. But he’s also hit some clutch/game-changing shots from beyond the arc while contributing more than five rebounds per game in a well-suited role off the bench, where he can slide into either forward spot.
Edge: Raptors.
POWER FORWARD
Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo*, Mirza Teletovic, John Henson
Antetokounmpo is the reason the Bucks were able to experiment with position-less basketball, but he starts at the four for this team in a point-forward role. He’s far and away represents the biggest hope Milwaukee has in making this series close and, frankly, there isn’t a player on the Raptors roster who can truly guard him. Tucker, Ibaka and Patrick Patterson can help and agitate with their physicality but are either too small or slow to contain the Greek Freak. Teletovic is a decent stretch-four, while any of Milwaukee’s big man rotation are capable of sliding over and seeing court time at power forward.
Toronto: Serge Ibaka*, Patrick Patterson
You can’t really overstate Ibaka’s impact since he was acquired just before the trade deadline. Apart from bringing significant playoff experience from his time in Oklahoma City and, like Tucker, the threat of violence, he’s been a major contributor on both ends, averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks while shooting 46 per cent from the floor and just under 40 per cent from beyond the arc in more than 31 minutes per game as a Raptor.
Patterson is a legitimate X-factor in this series and his ability to stretch the floor, protect the basket, and defend the perimeter will all prove to be critical against a similarly versatile Bucks frontcourt.
Edge: Bucks.
CENTRE
Milwaukee: Thon Maker*, Greg Monroe, Spencer Hawes
Maker, the 10th-overall pick in last year’s draft, spent his high school career in Orangeville, Ont. He’s been starting at centre for Milwaukee since late January, but isn’t a significant factor at only 12.7 minutes per game in that span. Monroe signed a big deal with the Bucks two summers ago, billed as the missing piece in their rebuild. It hasn’t worked out that way and Monroe’s largely been a disappointment in Milwaukee, though he’s contributed nicely this season in his unexpected role as a sixth man. Hawes, you may recall, torched the Raptors in their last meeting with the Bucks and his three-point stroke will keep him on the floor if it’s falling.
Toronto: Jonas Valanciunas*, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
Valanciunas has been stellar down the stretch and should be able to dominate his matchup. He flirted with a double-double this season and over his last 10 games averaged nearly 13 points and 9.5 boards while shooting 62.8 per cent from the floor. Poeltl, too, has impressed in the second half of the season, taking Lucas Nogueira’s job and flashing the potential that led him to be a top-10 pick in the 2016 draft. Notoriously, Casey doesn’t employ rookies in significant roles but, like Powell last season, Poeltl can see himself become an important part of the Raptors rotation in round one.
Edge: Raptors
