Three Questions from the Raptors ahead of Game 2 vs. the Milwaukee Bucks

After a heartbreaking Raptors loss against the Bucks in Game, Kyle Carr of Brew Hoop was kind enough to answer three questions about the series:

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Did the Raptors need to win this game, or was there enough encouraging play to signal a competitive series ahead?

I think this was more of a missed opportunity for Toronto than Milwaukee coming back. The Raptors were out playing Milwaukee for 3.5 quarters and failed to take advantage of the Bucks’ poor shooting. Pascal Siakam looks good and is taking advantage of being guarded by Ersan Ilyasova. I am curious to see how Eric Bledsoe plays considering what Kyle Lowry did last match and he was non-existent in the first half. This is still going to be a competitive series overall but Toronto will wish they had won Game 1.

Should the Bucks make some defensive adjustments on Kyle Lowry, or just dare him to have another game like that?

The Bucks should let him shoot the open threes that were given, but Milwaukee’s defense is OK with allowing above the break threes. Lowry played the best playoff game in his career so I think daring him to replicate it would be the route I would go with. Bledsoe might have to fight through some screens a little bit harder but I wouldn’t make drastic changes yet.

Brook Lopez killed the Raptors with his offensive aggression, shooting eight more field goal attempts than his previous playoff-high this year. How did Toronto’s defensive coverage allow Lopez so much breathing room?

For most teams, shooting this poorly would have resulted in abandoning the three and trying to get something easier, which Milwaukee did to an extent. The issue for Toronto was they allowed him to continue shooting and Brook Lopez had some good looks throughout. Lopez also went down low and tried getting some work on the block to get himself going especially in the second half. It seems like Marc Gasol was daring him to shoot but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a little more Serge Ibaka to close out on him more.

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Thanks to Kyle for speaking with us! Make sure to check out Brew Hoop for more Bucks content throughout the series.