Who’s going to own sole possession of last in the East?
Despite coming into the season with championship aspirations, the Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in a matchup to see who will reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference against the Toronto Raptors in their first In-Season Tournament (now known as the Emirates Cup) game of the year. Milwaukee went 1-2 against Toronto last year, with their last matchup coming at Fiserv Forum on April 5, with a Raptors win to end their fifteen-game losing streak. Current BuckGary Trent Jr. had 31 points for the Raptors on 11/22 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Where We’re At
It’s been a frustrating slog to watch the Bucks as of late. You see glimmers of improvement, but it still hasn’t amounted to much change in the win-loss column. After a rough first half against the Utah Jazz defensively, they put the clamps down in the second and blew out Utah. It was followed by an uncompetitive and depressing loss in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, where Karl Anthony-Towns had one of his best games as a Knick with 32 points, eleven rebounds, and five assists. Then came a Sunday matinee against the reigning NBA Champion Boston Celtics. Once again, the Bucks were unable to close out the champs after blowing an early lead, and bad late-game execution doomed the Bucks to a now 2-8 record.
The 2024 season hasn’t been much kinder to the Toronto Raptors this year, as they sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Their most recent West Coast road trip ended with four straight losses to the Nuggets, Kings, Clippers, and Lakers. Two of those losses came within just two points, while in the other two, the Raptors lost by fifteen or more. Scottie Barnes has only played four games up to this point after suffering a right orbital fracture, Bruce Brown hasn’t suited up yet, and Immanuel Quickley has only played in three games this season. Gradey Dick has been a bright spot and has progressed since his rookie season, but injuries have prevented the Raptors from showing off what they could potentially be.
Injury Report
There’s some good news and bad news on the injury front for the Bucks. On the good side, Giannis (right patella tendinopathy), Andre Jackson Jr. (left hip pointer), and Gary Trent Jr (back spasms) are all listed as probable with their respective ailments. The bad news is that outside of Khris Middleton still out as he recovers from off-season surgery, we found out yesterday that Dame is out after being put into the concussion protocol.
Sources: Damian Lillard received hit to head near end of third quarter against Celtics on Sunday. Experienced headaches and dizziness today. Tests confirmed a concussion. There’s a possibility he could be cleared by Wednesday’s game against Pistons.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 12, 2024
The Raptors’ injury list is long. They will be without Scottie Barnes (right orbital fracture), Bruce Brown (right knee arthroscopic surgery), Kelly Olynyk (lumbar strain), and Ja’Kobe Walter (right AC joint sprain). Garrett Temple is also listed as doubtful with a back strain, and Immanuel Quickley is questionable with a left elbow strain.
Player To Watch
The former no. 13 overall pick Gradey Dick is having quite the sophomore breakout season in The Six. After averaging just under ten points per game in his rookie campaign, Dick is up to nearly 20 points per contest. Not only is he scoring more, but his efficiency is better as well, up 3.5% to 46% from the field and up 0.5% from the three-point line to 37%.
How To Watch
FanDuel Sports Wisconsin at 7:00 PM CST.
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