Work ethic will tell the tale

Raptors and Bucks now down to best-of-three

Aseven-game series is reduced to three with two of the games on your home court.

You should feel good about your chances, whether you are a member of the Toronto Raptors or just a fan of the team. But can you? A Game 4 win, 87-76, in which the Raptors re-established themselves as the team to beat has to be a confidence boost. But it was just 48 hours prior to that when the Bucks turned the Raptors’ season on its head with such an all-encompassing tour de force that even the confidence of the most devout fans had to be shaken.

If the first four games have taught us anything, it is the team that plays the hardest is going to win.

That may sound obvious (and truthfully, it is) but far too often in dissecting a series, we get caught up in who has the most overall talent, who has the better depth, which team has the edge in experience, who has the fresher legs and a number of factors which matter a whole lot more when there is a sizable gap between the two teams taking part in the series.

The truth of the matter is the gap between these two teams is not that large at all.

Yes, the Raptors had nine more regular season wins than the Bucks and finished three spots higher in the conference. Yes, the Raptors have substantially more experience than the young Bucks and yes, they have the edge in talent although no one comes close to the seemingly endless talent possessed within the 7-foot frame of 22-yearold Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka the Greek Freak.

By our rough estimate, Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey has referenced on at least eight or nine occasions already how small the gap really is, not just between Toronto and Milwaukee but from 1-through 8 in the Eastern Conference when it comes to the ability of winning basketball games.

The first seven or so times he said it, we nodded, all the while thinking he was just being complimentary towards his opponent. Turns out he was not. Milwaukee is that good and anybody who doubts that need only go back and watch any of the first three games in the series.

Now in Game 4, the Bucks came back to earth a little. They were no longer the 50 per cent three-point shooting team that looked locked in and ready to take down the No 3 seeded Raps.

But the make-or-miss league you hear about so often from coaches holds true because for the better part of the first three games, the Bucks were makers (apologies to Thon on that one) and the Raptors were missers for the most part although much better in Game 2.

Toronto is still not hitting at a high clip, certainly not from three-point range from where they’re shooting just 31.3 per cent, but at least they have put enough thought in the Bucks minds with their physicality and hard play that they no longer look like a team of Ray Allen’s just lining up and throwing down daggers from anywhere on the floor.

Bucks’ coach Jason Kidd, for the first three games at least, was winning the battle of which coach can get his team to play harder.

It’s debatable, but Casey probably got his first win on Saturday in that head-tohead matchup. Some will say he won it in Game 2 as well, Toronto’s first win, but it didn’t feel that way.

Still, either way you feel about it, the Raptors and Bucks have a brand new series.

The Raptors have learned, if they didn’t already know, that there is absolutely no quit in these Bucks.

A gutsy lineup change in Game 4 by the Raptors got another guard on the floor, got Jonas Valanciunas away from chasing down Thon Maker and freed DeMar DeRozan to be the scorer he has been all season.

Norm Powell deserves a ton of credit, as does Valanciunas for making this change so effective. Casey and his coaching staff similarly deserve a ton of credit for coming up with it.

Kidd said it was the move they were expecting coming into Game 4 so taking him at his word, it means the Bucks were prepared for the change and still didn’t react well to it.

That’s a huge win for the Raptors beyond the game result. Look for the Bucks to come with a better answer for this in Game 5.

But in the end, it’s still going to come down to the team that plays harder. Toronto may have got away with a win in Game 2 where they were beaten in the hard work game, but four games in, that’s unlikely to happen again.

These two teams know each other inside and out by now and all the tendencies enough that it’s going to come down to who wants it more. Talent and experience and youth will obviously play a role, but the team better able to both hand out and absorb punishment is going to win the series.

Game 5 tips off Monday night at the Air Canada Centre at 7 p.m.