Greek Freak will be handful for Raps
And now it starts for CLEVELAND real.
An 82-game regular season is in the books.
The Toronto Raptors finished it off Wednesday night in Cleveland in a game against the Cavaliers that meant more for its preparatory value for the playoffs.
Next up for No. 3 seed Toronto are the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, a young team light on playoff experience, but Raptors head coach Dwane Casey is determined he won’t let his charges take them lightly.
Game 1’s date wasn’t determined by press time, but it will be either Saturday or Sunday afternoon at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Mention the Bucks to any NBA fan and the first thought is almost universally the Greek Freak. Born Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak has been one of the league’s feel-good stories of the year, developing his game at a rate most mere mortals could only dream of.
He is the Bucks’ leading scorer, their chief marketing tool, their biggest selling jersey — in short, he is everything times 10 for the organization.
“He’s a freak of nature for an athlete,” Casey said. “He reminds me so much of a young Magic Johnson as far as his length, his size, the way he can pass the ball — and Lord forbid he gets consistent on his jump shots. But his length and his ability to see the floor, his willingness to pass — he enjoys passing — and then his one-step from the top of the key to the rim laying it up or dunking it; that’s why he’s a freak. He’s totally different than anything else in our league.”
The Bucks are the type of team the Raptors struggle with. They play hard from tipoff to final horn, and if you allow them, they will dominate physically.
“What we have to do is meet that force with our force,” Casey said. “We did not do that when we played that last game there (in Milwaukee, a 101-94 loss on March 4). We tiptoed around feeling sorry for ourselves after a back-to-back and they kicked our butt.”