‘X-Men’ worry Raptors coach

Strong bench can do damage

TORONTO – Dwane Casey is concerned about his team’s ability to slow down Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But the Toronto Raptors coach said that’s not his only worry.

The Bucks have some X-Men, players who could have big games in the first-round playoff series that opens Saturday at the Air Canada Centre.

Casey mentioned Greg Monroe, Michael Beasley and Jason Terry as players capable of doing damage off the Bucks bench.

“We have to make sure we have attention to detail when they come in the game, know exactly what we want to do,” Casey said. “Any of those guys can really step up and hurt you.

“( Tony) Snell is very capable of having a big game. So we have to make sure we’re up into him and make sure we dictate where we want him to go.”

The Raptors have improved defensively since adding veterans Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker in trades near the February deadline.

“Those two guys bring us a level of toughness that you can’t put a number on,” Casey said. “The physicality they bring; they talk defense and take pride in their defense.

“They talk about it in the huddles. They talked about it after practice yesterday (Thursday). They talk about it on the court. Last year ( Bismack) Biyombo did that, but not at the level of Serge and P.J.

“And calling guys out when they do make a mistake, they do that, too.”

Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll will be one of the players called on to defend Antetokounmpo and said he has studied film on the Greek Freak.

“We’ve got to bait him to shoot more jumpers,” Carroll said. “I think nearly a thousand of his shot attempts have been layups, so we’ve got to try to keep him from getting in the paint.

“It’s got to be a collective effort.”

Not so new: When the Bucks made the playoffs two seasons ago, it was a new situation for most players on the roster. Only six players on that squad had played meaningful minutes in the playoffs before that season, combining for 121 games between them with Zaza Pachulia‘s 40 representing the team high.

This season, it’s less likely Milwaukee will run into a deer-in-theheadlights situation when the bright postseason lights come on.

“It’s a completely new team,” Khris Middleton said. “I think we’re a better team, we’re more experienced than we were back then, so I don’t think there’s really a comparison.”

Middleton is one of just three Bucks players who suited up for Milwaukee in the 2015 playoffs — with Antetokounmpo and John Henson being the others. As a team, though, this season’s Bucks have more than double the postseason experience (261 games) of the squad two years ago.

Outside of the Bucks’ three rookies and Jabari Parker, who has been injured for each playoff run, the Bucks have just two veterans — Rashad Vaughn and Monroe — who will be making their postseason debuts.

“That definitely means something,” Middleton said. “That means you’ve been in this position before, you know what to expect and you know how it is on the road in the playoffs.”

Each of the six players the Bucks added this season either via free agency or trade has brought postseason experience with him. Terry, who is making his 12th postseason appearance for his fourth different team, leads the pack with 115 games.

Matthew Dellavedova joined the Bucks after back-to-back trips to the finals with Cleveland, winning the title with the Cavaliers last season.

“I think when you talk about playoff experience we went and got some guys who have played in the playoffs,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’re going to need all that experience when we go into Toronto.”

But the Raptors are counting on their experience gained in a long run to the Eastern Conference finals last season, where they finally fell to Cleveland in six games. The Raptors had to survive seven-game series against both Indiana and Miami.

“We’ve got to hit them with a blow they haven’t seen,” Carroll said. “That’s how we’ve got to come into the game (Saturday).

“Even though we’re playing at home, we’ve got to throw the first punch. Even when we get on the road, we’ve got to throw the first punch.

“We understand the nature of the game and how physical it’s going to be.”