The Milwaukee Bucks’ overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday was a game either team could have won. It was hotly contested down the stretch, with each team trading blows before the Raptors ultimately came away with the win on the back of a franchise-record 52 points from DeMar DeRozan.
For the Bucks, it was a game they could have had, a game they wanted and a chance they wish they could have back. They’ll get their chance at revenge at 7 p.m. Friday when the Raptors make their first and final trip to the BMO Harris Bradley Center this season.
“We felt like we gave one away there, honestly,” Bucks wing Khris Middleton said. “They’re a great team, they’re going to come here tomorrow and try to get the game over with, try to let us know we can’t compete with them. We have to just stay with our game plan, stay with our mentality we’ve been playing with the last couple games and hopefully we’ll come out with a win.”
Milwaukee threw everything at DeRozan. They rotated an array of wing defenders onto him, though no one achieved exceptional results. They also sent double teams at him and blitzed him on pick-and-rolls hoping to force the ball out of his hands.
After watching film, both Middleton and Bucks coach Jason Kidd said Milwaukee will need to do a better job of making DeRozan work from start to finish. In the first matchup, DeRozan — who is eighth in the NBA with 25.1 points per game — got going immediately with Toronto’s first nine points leading to 21 in the first quarter alone.
“He got in a rhythm, got to the free throw line early,” Middleton said. “Just everything was too easy. He’s going to score, but he shouldn’t score 50 or 40. He’s a great player, he makes tough shots. We’ve just got to do a better job and make him work a lot more for those shots.”
In addition, the Bucks will need to clean up their communication and rotations in the situations where they choose to double DeRozan — a tactic the team has often employed going back to last season’s playoffs.
“You’ve got to pick and choose what parts of the game you’re going to try to take the ball out of his hand,” Kidd said. “He’s very good at trying to beat the double team. He’s seen it all, he’s been in the league for some time. The one thing about him is his pace — he doesn’t change and he gets to the spots where he knows he can be effective.”
When the scheme calls for traps, individual players have the leeway to adjust when and how they trap based on the game situation and who they’re guarding. Making the right reads can be tough, especially with the dangerous outlet options DeRozan has in Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.
,” Middleton said. “You definitely read the situation where if you think he’s under control at the time maybe let him go and give up the two instead of the three like I did,” Middleton said.
Matt Velazquez interviews Bucks forward Jabari Parker. Midwest Ballers Show
Parker’s progress: Bucks forward Jabari Parker is ramping his activity up, preparing for his projected return next month from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. He’s gone 5-on-5 with the Wisconsin Herd and has taken part in scrimmages — 5-on-5, 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 — with Bucks teammates on practice days.
“This is the real game,” Parker said. “I can do all the shooting and drill work, but you do all that to play the game. This is what’s preparing me.”
On Thursday, he went 5-on-5 with some of Milwaukee’s players who didn’t log as many minutes in the Bucks’ win over the Pacers on Wednesday. A few rotation players including Eric Bledsoe and Thon Maker also took part.
How close is he to being able to do everything he used to be able to do?
“You saw. You know,” Parker replied to that query following Thursday’s session at the Sports Science Center.
What Parker was referring to was his ability to more than hold his own in the scrimmages. He kept up with the pace, made strong cuts with and without the ball and attacked the rim for dunks in traffic with seemingly effortless explosiveness. Following the scrimmages, he tried a between the legs dunk with no run-up, executing on every aspect of the attempt outside of throwing it down as the ball careened off the back iron.
As has been the case for months, he looked spry and athletic as he did a year ago. As has also been the case, Parker reiterated he’s not quite ready yet.
“That’s the only thing that’s left is conditioning,” Parker said. “I feel good. I think I’m conditioned, but the only way to find out is by playing and that’s a whole different animal.”
While the progress has been positive, Parker still doesn’t have an idea of when he’ll get back to game action. February has been the constant refrain for nearly a year, but whether it’s early in the month, before the All-Star Game or after has yet to be determined.
All he knows is what he needs to do regarding his strength and conditioning and that’s where his focus lies.
“I think that it’s out of my control for now,” Parker said regarding his return date. “They keep on telling me it’s up to them and I have no problem with it.”