Two teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings tangle when the Toronto Raptors travel to face the Milwaukee Bucks to open up Emirates NBA Cup play Tuesday night.
For the Raptors, coming off a 25-win season last year, it’s not a surprise to see them where they are in the standings, but the struggles of the 2-8 Bucks are one of the talks of the early season.
“We gotta get out of this hole that we created,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after his team’s loss to the Boston Celtics Sunday. “We created it. All of us, me, them, together. I have no doubt that we will. We have to play ourselves out of this hole.”
The Bucks wasted another sensational performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo Sunday against the Celtics. He had 43 points and leads the NBA averaging 31.6 points a game, boosting that average to 33.8 over his last five.
Damian Lillard was held to 14 points by the Celtics, well off his 26-point average.
Rivers appears frustrated by his team’s issues, especially the variables of pace and effort.
“We can’t sustain what we did like we did in the Cleveland game. We came out like gangbusters and we just didn’t sustain our play,” Rivers said. “It’s my job to make sure we keep going and playing at the right pace. We didn’t do that.”
The Bucks do expect the third piece of their Big Three back soon. Rivers said Khris Middleton has been ramping up his activity level after suffering an ankle injury.
Injuries have been a big theme for the Raptors, who have lost four straight on a five-game road trip that ends Tuesday. Bruce Brown is out with a knee injury, and Scottie Barnes is out until at least Thanksgiving with an orbital fracture.
Raptors lead guard RJ Barrett missed three games with an injury but has played well since his return. Immanuel Quickley missed eight games with a pelvis injury and Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said the two are still getting used to one another.
“It’s just a different role in different situations for both of them,” Rajakovic said. “They are learning how to play off of each other. They are learning how to play again with Jakob (Poeltl). We’re still playing quickly. We have to use this as a learning opportunity. We have one more game on this road trip.”
The Raptors lead the NBA in 2-point shooting percentage at 65.1, and Poeltl is averaging a double-double, but Toronto has a defensive rating of 120.0, worst in the NBA.
While it seems like it’s getting late early for the Bucks, Toronto entered the year with measured expectations and there’s no talk of digging out of a hole.
“It’s hard to make any conclusions after 10-11 games,” Rajakovic said. “We still have guys dealing with injuries. We are really investing in developing the young players that we have.”
The NBA Cup is an in-season tournament in its second season. Milwaukee went 4-0 in group play last year and lost in the semifinals to Indiana. Toronto went 1-3 in NBA Cup play.
