In a game that was far from perfect for the Bucks, they managed to pull out a 122-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The team had 18 turnovers (most coming in the first half), and didn’t shoot great
from three (14/40), but still found a way to gut it out. Giannis was monstrous, and, as will need to be the case all season, a bunch of role players stepped up. Brandon Ingram was Toronto’s top performer with 29 points and six rebounds, while RJ Barrett chipped in 20 points and also accrued six boards. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
37 minutes, 31 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, 11/14 FG, 2/2 3P, 7/12 FT, +18
Giannis was so, so good last night. He dominated what was a super-physical Raptors defence, dissecting every opening and exerting his will on the game. GA was uber-efficient, and the plus/minus truly tells the story; Milwaukee looked great when he was on the floor. Minus the five turnovers (and the two “no, no, no, yes!” three pointers), it was close to a flawless game for the big fella.
Grade: A
Myles Turner
28 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2/8 FG. 0/3 3P, +12
Turner’s stat line doesn’t look impressive, but aside from missing shots, I don’t think he played poorly at all. Myles’ impact on defence was felt whether he blocked the shot or not, and he takes up so much space down there in the paint that it allows Giannis to “grab and go” much easier. Turner had the second-highest plus/minus on the team, and the eye-test matches that.
Grade: B-
Ryan Rollins
29 minutes, 13 points, 3 steals, 5/11 FG, 1/5 3P, +3
Rollins is getting more and more comfortable as each game passes, and although he struggled from three again, this was a nice game for him overall. Ryan’s defence remains awesome; he might lead the league in deflections this year. Also, the guy is a sneaky good finisher at the rim; he can finish with either hand in a variety of ways.
Grade: B+
Cole Anthony
26 minutes, 23 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 9/14 FG, 2/5 3P, +5
The Bucks needed someone other than Giannis to come along for the ride if they were to win this game. Enter, Cole Anthony. Cole was getting two feet in the paint all night long, and his athleticism really pops on a team that can space the floor like Milwaukee can. Now, the free-throw shooting, defence, and turnovers could stand to improve, but for a guard on a minimum contract, you take that production all day. As a famous rapper once said, Cole World.
Grade: A
Gary Trent Jr.
29 minutes, 20 points, four assists, 7/15 FG, -5
One thing I love about Trent is that he’s never scared of the moment—that was shown in the fourth quarter of this one, when he hit two massive threes. On the whole, GT was solid on both ends. I love the buy-in on defence, but I think it’s fair to say that he’s not someone you should necessarily be relying on to hang with ball-handlers the way you do Ryan Rollins or AJax—we saw that when he was guarding Ingram.
Grade: B+
AJ Green
25 minutes, 9 points, 3/5 FG, 3/5 3P, +8
This was probably always going to be a game where AJ was minimised to some degree, given the Raptors’ massive lineup. Green didn’t even play badly; I thought his defence was fine, but he was just physically overmatched, having to guard Ingram and/or Barrett for much of the game.
Grade: C+
Bobby Portis
21 minutes, 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5/13 FG, 1/5 3P, -5
Look, I was happy to see Portis finally hit shots in that second half; it’s felt like he hasn’t made shots since the preseason began. Now, as is the question every year: are isolation mid-rangers good for the offence in the modern NBA? Probably not, but at least he made some last night. On the other end, BP’s defence—whether it be individual or team—has been as bad as ever to open the season, and that’s what this grade reflects. I know his frame limits him to a degree, but I thought he put in a bunch of lazy efforts last night.
Grade: C
Kyle Kuzma
17 minutes, 8 points, 4/5 FG, -5
Kuzma went down with an ankle injury in this one, but I thought he played another solid game. His defence was good once again, and he let the offence come to him by playing within the system—tick! It sucks that the Bucks are now another player down.
Grade: B+
Taurean Prince
21 minutes, 3 points, 3 assists, 1/4 FG, +0
TP played his role well in this one. Not a big scoring night, but he did a decent job guarding Ingram down the stretch as Doc upsized the lineup. That’s basically the exact scenario in which TP becomes particularly useful for this team.
Grade: B-
Doc Rivers
Doc was solid in this one. The decision to set mid-court screens for Giannis when the Raptors were applying full-court pressure was an astute one (though this is probably a general principle for the season as a whole). Also, choosing Cole Anthony to close the game was another good call. The only question I had—and will have going forward—is whether Rivers sticks with all-bench units; Toronto feasted on that unit early in the second.
Grade: B+
limited minutes: Amir Coffey.
DNP-CD: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Gary Harris, Andre Jackson Jr., Mark Sears, and Jericho Sims.
Inactive: Kevin Porter Jr., Pete Nance, and Alex Antetokounmpo.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc’s update on Kuzma’s ankle injury was that it was “a sprain, but not a bad one,” and that he’s “probably day-to-day.”
- Cole Anthony said that in the first half, he was “getting in the paint and spraying the ball [out to teammates].” Then, in the second half, Toronto was “second-guessing themselves in that low-man spot,” thinking that Anthony would keep passing it, which allowed him to look more for his own shot.
- Scottie Barnes scored and then flexed all over an on-the-ground Giannis, and did not receive a tech foul? I guess there’s a new interpretation each year!?
Up Next
Milwaukee’s road trip continues to Cleveland, where they will face the Cavaliers on Sunday night with a shot to remain unbeaten. Catch the action at 5:00 p.m. Central on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
