Raptors Takeaways: Toronto outclassed by Bucks team with lofty expectations

Can a pair of double-digit losses really be all that different?

Less than two weeks ago, the Toronto Raptors lost by 24 to the Milwaukee Bucks, taking the air out of the tires of the Raptors finally (briefly) having a healthy core together on the court. While the team would lose three more games before finally winning a pair this week, the team has pointed to that Bucks blowout as a turning point from an attitude perspective, a spiritual low-point when there were no injuries or absences to blame, only their own play.

On Friday, the Bucks once again handled the Raptors comfortably, winning 130-112 in Milwaukee to sweep the season series 3-0.

Whether they feel differently this time around is hard to project. They certainly can’t have another turning point in the same fortnight, and it may not be as required here. The effort level, if not the execution and attention to detail, was higher this time around, and Darko Rajakovic emptying out his bench with three minutes left, down 15, is a fairly clear admission that they were too overmatched.

That was true at the team level, and specifically with Milwaukee’s star duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Lillard scored 26 points and dished eight dimes, snaking his way into clean threes and free-throw attempts. Antetokounmpo, who the Raptors had turned into a pure playmaker last meeting, bullied them for 35 points to just three assists, including 18 free-throw attempts.

The 41-20 free throw edge is a reality the Raptors have faced all year as a young, chippy team who can grow frustrated with the whistle their own offensive players get. In this case, nobody outside of Scottie Barnes had a prayer against Antetokounmpo, which led to plenty of fouls and a fair number of good outside looks for his teammates when the Raptors had to send extra help.

Unlike the last meeting, there wasn’t the same sense of letting go of the rope. (The bar is low here, admittedly; the larger season outlook is what it is.) RJ Barrett had a nice offensive game with 21 points and 10 assists, and while Barnes had a very tough shooting night (4-of-16, 0-of-6 on threes), he, too, dished 10 dimes as a hub in transition and around the elbows; the 31 assists as a team are at least how they want to play, and the number would have been higher could anyone have bought a jumper (they were 8-of-34 as a team from long-range, good for 23.5 per cent).

The Raptors tried to make their runs, even if the Bucks never seemed particularly worried about their small non-comebacks. In the third quarter, for example, the Raptors shot 67 per cent from the floor, only to still lose the quarter by a point because Milwaukee’s offence came so easily to them. Across the end of the third and early part of the fourth, the Raptors went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 10, only for the Bucks to calmly extend it right back to 18.

An 80-second stretch of the fourth was instructive. Davion Mitchell drew a pair of illegal screen fouls on Brook Lopez and the Raptors hit the offensive glass well to extend possessions. Yet they missed five consecutive shots, four of them decent looks at triples. Between those empty possessions, Gary Trent Jr. hit a casual mid-range pull-up and Lillard fed Taurean Prince for an easy three. The Raptors had been hustling and fighting hard and had an extra five points to their deficit to show for it.

Ultimately, this is a Bucks team with championship aspirations who have started to figure things out lately, and a Raptors team that is measured by how they respond to games like this, not whether they can actually put a three-game winning streak together for the first time this year.

Here are a few more notes from a loss that nudges the Raptors to 10-32 on the season.

• Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown had their best offensive games of the season, which isn’t bad timing. Olynyk finally looks like the back issues could be behind him, looking comfortable as a shooter and a dribble hand-off weapon in bench units (and even alongside the starters in place of Jakob Poeltl for a chunk of the third quarter), scoring 15 points with a couple of assists. Brown’s been steadier since his return and topped that up with 17 points here.

• Immanuel Quickley remained out with his hip/groin strain. Ochai Agbaji was out due to a cut on his hand that he opened back up last game and required three stitches. The three-day break before they play again comes at a good time for those two.

• Ja’Kobe Walter, meanwhile, remained on assignment with Raptors 905, as did Eugene Omoruyi, A.J. Lawson, and Ulrich Chomche. It should be a fun one at Paramount Fine Foods Centre on Sunday afternoon with all of those players (and possibly more) in uniform.

• Jonathan Mogbo, meanwhile, was back from a Raptors 905 assignment and the first man off the bench on Friday. Being asked to guard Antetokounmpo is a tough first assignment back, and he was mostly a non-factor in his 16 minutes. His 905 time should still be valuable long-term, letting him get offensive touches beyond what he’d get with the NBA club. Post-deadline, there should be more of a regular role for him once again.

• Rajakovic used his challenge on a fairly obvious Barnes foul on a Lillard three-point attempt at the end of the second quarter. The earlier in the game and lower the situational leverage, the higher the bar should be for certainty you’re correct and will retain the challenge. As I’ve noted before, it’s a relatively small issue – there are examples of good coaches and good teams using the challenge primarily to support their players – but it’s an area the Raptors have struggled.

• One thing I do like that Rajakovic has done more of is utilizing offence-defence subs when there are dead balls late in quarters. Those little edges don’t matter much in 20-point games, but recognizing and using them is a good marginal tool in more competitive games, especially with a roster that’s pretty heavy on players who are better at one end than the other.

• The Bucks aired a tribute to legendary Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker during an early timeout, then played a clip of Uecker to lead the crowd in a rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” That’s a really nice touch after the city of Milwaukee lost an absolute gem this week. (I watched Major League this afternoon. Still a classic.)

• Today is the anniversary of the trade that sent Pascal Siakam to the Pacers. It’s a reasonable time to check in on how that deal looks today, especially with Siakam standing out as the best (or, at least, most consistently good) Pacer over the last year.

As a reminder, the Raptors received Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr., and three first-round picks.

Brown is, of course, still on the roster and one of the more popular names three weeks out from the trade deadline. His salary could be a useful chip in helping with larger multi-team trades, allowing the Raptors to pick up an asset or two for facilitating, or he could be dealt straight-up in a deal that should at least net a good second (though his salary is tough for apron-level teams to take on). The Raptors could also hold on to him into free agency for possible sign-and-trade purposes, if that flexibility proves more attractive than the trade market (I’m a bit skeptical).

Nwora was largely just salary filler and is now playing in Turkey. Lewis was a salary dump from the Pelicans (who sent Indy a second-rounder to unload Lewis and duck below the luxury tax) and is now playing in the G League.

As for the picks, one was used on Walter, one was used to acquire Agbaji and Olynyk (who was then signed to a bit of an overpay extension), and one is a 2026 pick that is lightly protected.

How you feel about the return, given where the Raptors were, likely hinges on your opinion of Walter’s upside and Agbaji’s place as a long-term bench piece. Evaluating a trade for picks is always difficult because utilizing the return depends on the team’s ability to draft and develop well; from Indy’s perspective, they gave up the No. 19 pick, not Walter specifically. In any case, the Raptors will have to develop Walter very well and make good use of the 2026 pick.

From Indiana’s side, it’s a no-question win to have acquired Siakam without touching any of their prospect capital, most of whom have contributed this year.

• The anniversary of the trade also means that the traded player exception the Raptors created in that trade has now expired. Toronto used a chunk of it to facilitate the Kings trade this summer, landing Davion Mitchell, Jamal Shead, and a good second-rounder (Portland’s pick this year) for renting out their cap flexibility.

That’s a good enough use of an exception and cap space that it’s not a huge deal to let the remaining $5.1 million expire; these TPEs often go unused and are more of an accounting trick than anything.

• Friday was also the final day of the 10-day contract for Omoruyi, who remained with Raptors 905 for this one and didn’t appear in a game for Toronto on his deal. The contract was as much about rewarding a standout 905 player financially as anything, as Omoruyi received about $125,000 to supplement his $43,000 G League salary.

It’s possible he gets another 10-day so the Raptors can get an actual NBA look at him, or Toronto could pivot and give another 905er the same boost (Jared Rhoden would make sense).

Big picture, the Raptors don’t want to commit to anyone long-term in that roster spot until after the trade deadline, in case they need it to absorb an extra player. Post-deadline, it can be used for more 10-days or to convert a two-way like Jamison Battle to a standard NBA deal. And since the Raptors haven’t used their mid-level exception this year, they’d have the ability to sign Battle to a contract beyond the standard two-year minimum, going as long as this year plus three more if they so chose.

• With Omoruyi’s 10-day wrapped, the Raptors are currently about $10.1 million below the luxury tax line. That’s an important number, as it represents how much additional salary they could take on in a trade without dipping into the tax (and losing out on the payout from tax teams, which should be well into the eight figures).

That number excludes “unlikely incentives” for Quickley, Poeltl and Barrett. Quickley will not play in enough games (65) to qualify for his, while Poeltl’s are based on team playoff performance, and Barrett is unlikely to make an All-NBA, All-Star, or All-Defense team, which would trigger his. So it seems safe to operate with that $10.1-million number in mind.

• Happy birthday to Michael Grange! And I hope the rest of you have a wonderful weekend, too.

More from Sportsnet

Five trends that will define the second half of the Raptors’ season

How Celtics are redefining NBA offence with three-point bonanza