Raptors will need serge of offence to beat the Bucks
When Ibaka reaches double digits in points, Toronto is unbeaten in playoffs this season
On the morning after, Serge Ibaka was still shaking his head and internalizing the Game 1 defeat. He wasn’t alone.
Game 1 was right there for the Toronto Raptors against the Milwaukee Bucks. They know it. They led after one quarter. They led at the half. They led after three quarters. They took the noise out of the building and were beaten by Brook Lopez of all people.
About then they stopped hitting shots. Just about every shot not taken by Kyle Lowry.
Ibaka didn’t take a shot in the final 12 minutes. Kawhi Leonard took three, missed three, didn’t get a bounce or four off the rim. Marc Gasol, finally shooting, was 0-for-4. Danny Green, Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell a combined 0-for-5.
The score was 98-98 with just under four minutes to play. The score the rest of the way: Milwaukee 10, Toronto 2.
And that was it. Game 1 gone. “I told myself after the loss I have to play better,” Ibaka said. “Being under pressure is good pressure ... I lacked energy. My energy level wasn’t there. I didn’t bring it last night.”
Ibaka is a unique Raptor. His role changes often. He started a lot of the season at centre before the Raptors traded for Marc Gasol. Now he sometimes backs up Gasol, sometimes plays alongside him, is always counted on — but this piece of playoff statistic is prominent in Toronto’s run to the Eastern Conference final.
When Ibaka scores in double figures, the Raptors win — a 6-0 record to date. An average of 12 points a game. He has often been the X-factor nobody talks much about when we’re all fawning over Leonard.
When the Raptors lose — they have lost five playoff games to date — Ibaka scores fewer than six points a game.
“I know,” said Ibaka. “I have to be better.”
The Raptors, aside from Lowry, have to be better. Everybody. Leonard wasn’t his comfortable self in Game 1, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was struggling to find his game as well. Milwaukee got a monster game from Lopez. The Raptors played superb defence against Antetokounmpo, not so much against Lopez.
That adjustment will have to be made for Game 2.
What hurts so much from Game 1 is the win was right there, that Lowry played one of the games of his life, that it’s one of those playoff defeats you can’t help but look at as a lost opportunity. It wasn’t exactly Game 1 against Cleveland last year, but that kind of tone.
It’s so rare for Lowry to score more than 30 points, to shoot so efficiently, to affect the game in so many various ways.
He did that and still they lost. So now what?
Lowry is unlike Ibaka, who talks openly about the lost opportunity of Game 1. Lowry won’t say anything like that. He’s a walking playoff cliche this time of year — play the game, analyze the game, watch the film, meet with the coaches, adjust for the next game. Rinse and repeat. The Leonard calmness has become Lowry on off-days.
Coach Nick Nurse thought the Raptors played their guts out in Game 1. And here is the challenge for the head coach. He’s basically playing a six-man rotation. The Milwaukee bench outscored Toronto’s tiny bench 22-6. In playing time, the Bucks bench played 78 minutes, the Raptors bench 39.
Antetokounmpo played just over 37 minutes to lead the Bucks. Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Lowry and Gasol all played more than that. Antetokounmpo appeared fresh right to the end, even if he ended with just 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Leonard, in particular, seemed unable to get good shots away in the final quarter.
In the Raptors’ eight playoff wins, Ibaka has averaged more than 23 minutes. He played 17 minutes in Game 1. He averages just over 17 minutes in the Raptors’ five post-season losses.
Now what to expect from Game 2? Expect the Bucks to be better early in the game. Expect them to use at least nine men in their rotation and to keep their players fresh. Don’t expect huge nights from Lopez and Lowry. Expect some Raptors to make shots in the final quarter. And expect Ibaka to play more, shoot more and provide the Raptors with an opportunity to tie the series up.
I told myself after the loss I have to play better. Being under pressure is good ... My energy level wasn’t there. I didn’t bring it last night.