(recap by Ryan Dickison)
Looks like its back to the drawing board for the Raptors after a disappointing loss to Milwaukee Wednesday night.
The Raptors went to Bosh early on in the game which set the tone for the soon to be free agent. Bosh had racked up 22 points while hauling in 8 rebounds and contributing with a respectable 4 assists by halftime. He shot 8-11 from the floor and was 6-6 from the charity stripe. CB4 turned in a career high 44 points in total while snagging 12 boards on the night.
Milwaukee’s big, Andrew Bogut was equally as aggressive. The Aussie Center attacked Andrea Bargnani from the tip, scoring Milwaukee’s first eight points of the game. He ran into foul trouble down the stretch when he collected his sixth and final foul around the 4 minute mark but by that point Bogut had already bucketed 27 points, collected 12 rebounds and swatted three blocked shots.
What looked to be a defensive game at first (24-22 after one), soon grew into a continuing exchange of baskets. Ex-Raptor Carlos Delfino hurt his old mates, as most ex-Raptors do, totalling 22 points to go along with 7 boards. Delfino wasn’t the only one crashing the glass. Toronto gave up 18 OFFENSIVE rebounds in total! Jerry Stackhouse, who hasn’t seen action in 14 months, had 4 alone!
A struggling Brandon Jennings went only 2-11 from the floor in the first half and the Raps were flawless from the line hitting 24 straight free throws at one point. When you get outscored by 22 points in the paint and allow 64 points in the second half, it’s not hard to see why Toronto lets games like these slip away.
Stackhouse who has been doing radio for the last while, outworked his defender, established interior position and chased down rebounds while Raptor players stood around and watched. It’s this sort of effort that validates those who say Toronto lacks tenacity and grit. Rebound specialist Reggie Evans has still a month before he can get in there and bang with the big boys.
Toronto’s biggest off-season acquisition Hedo Turkoglu struggled again to find his shot as he launched brick after brick while fellow new comer Jarrett Jack only chipped in with six points. The Raptors will need more out of their team apart from the Killer B’s if they hope to reach the playoffs much less be considered a contender.
Key Notes:
- Milwaukee won the rebound battle, outrebounding the Raptors 47-40
- Bucks worked it down low: 52-30 points in the paint in favour of the Bucks
- Jose Calderon had 16 points off of the Raps' bench
- For a Bucks perspective, check out Bucksketball
- DeRozan Watch: 26 minutes, 2 pts, 4 rebounds
Photo credit: (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
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