Based off the first quarter of this season, you would think that this would be a match-up between two very strong, surging Eastern conference teams.
As of late however, both of these teams have fallen into a slump that neither team has been able to find their way out of.
The Toronto Raptors (28-18) have dropped five straight and have been without all-star starter DeMar DeRozan for the past two games but remains questionable for Friday night’s tilt. They remain in the second slot in the Eastern conference but have the Celtics (27-18) and Hawks (27-19) both within a game back.
The Raps have caught a break during this skid, as the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are also in a funk. Toronto remains just three games behind Cleveland (30-14).
The Bucks on the other hand continue to represent themselves as one of the most inconsistent teams across the entire league. On Monday they snapped a five game skid against the Houston Rockets 127-114, and it looked like the losing woes were going to end. Milwaukee hit the reset button on that with a humiliating home-loss to the Embiid-less, Okafor-less, Philadelphia 76ers.
This embarrassment handed Milwaukee (21-24) its sixth loss in seven games, dropping them three games under .500 once again. Had they beaten Philly, they would only be one under .500 and would have a lot of momentum headed into their back-to-back set this weekend beginning at Toronto on Friday and then concluding with a home game against Boston Saturday night.
Coincidentally, Toronto’s five game losing streak began when their off-season signee, Jared Sullinger, made his season debut back on January 18th.
In their most recent meeting just over a month ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker combined for 57 points, but Greg Monroe was the only other Buck to hit double figures (11) in their 100-122 loss to Toronto.
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 48 points, but the real game changer came off the bench was from Terrence Ross. Ross contributed 25 big points off the bench,allowing the Raptors backcourt all-stars to breathe easy.
Game three of four of the regular season between these two teams tips off at 7:30 ET/6:30 CT from Toronto.
Season Series Schedule and Results
11/25: Raptors 105, Bucks 99
12/12: Raptors 122, Bucks 100
1/27: Bucks @ Raptors
3/4: Raptors @ Bucks
