Game 1 of the ECF. Raps @ Bucks. Wednesday May 15th 8:30pm on Sportsnet and TNT

[007]

Kawhi should feast on Middleton if he guards him

I’m interested to see how much time Kawhi and Giannis actually guard each other

[Zainab]

[KeonClark]

You're up Lowry!

[inthepaint]

Don't expect OG to play. He's only starting to move and it'll be a week before they ramp it up.

Yeah OG would be a good theoretical piece on this series, but frankly, being all for so long even if he's fit to play I'm not sure it's a good idea to throw him out there. It takes time to build conditioning and even though he has playoff experience to throw him at 21 out there on an ECF when everyone is already in rhythm is a risk.

[DanH]

https://twitter.com/matt_velazquez/s...755026432?s=21

So Mirotic confirmed as the starter for game 1.

Bledsoe
Middleton
Mirotic
Giannis
Lopez

Going to be really interesting to see how Bud manages his substitutions. He's got a lot more options than Nurse.

Them going so big is interesting for sure. I think you pull Kawhi onto Giannis for this lineup, have Siakam take Mirotic, switch freely on those actions. Probably live with going under screens on Giannis too when Marc/Lopez are in the screen action. Let Green handle Middleton. Then in looks when they are a bit smaller you can roll Kawhi higher up the lineup onto Middleton or Bledsoe, depending who you want to torment.

Could also start Serge but I'd hope not right away. Gotta see if their size can hurt us first. They tend to park their big guys outside, might not hurt us that much on the boards.

[KeonClark]

Kawhi should feast on Middleton if he guards him

Middleton got the call I'm reg season and Kawhi put up DeRozan type numbers 42% 22 ppg. So we shall see

[tDotted]

Middleton got the call I'm reg season and Kawhi put up DeRozan type numbers 42% 22 ppg. So we shall see

Kawhi struggled against Aaron Gordon in the regular season too so there's that

[Jclaw]

Does anyone feel like the narrative has switched 180 degrees this year? All you hear from Milwaukee is that their depth will win out. They have this proud and productive bench mob. The Raps have a thin bench and won’t be able to match up. Sound like anyone we know ie the circa 2017/18 Raptors? Let’s hope the flipped narrative continues and the bench battle fizzles out as the reality sinks in that the best five players play about 90% of the game and the best player on the floor takes over.

[RaptorsVictim]

Does anyone feel like the narrative has switched 180 degrees this year? All you hear from Milwaukee is that their depth will win out. They have this proud and productive bench mob. The Raps have a thin bench and won’t be able to match up. Sound like anyone we know ie the circa 2017/18 Raptors? Let’s hope the flipped narrative continues and the bench battle fizzles out as the reality sinks in that the best five players play about 90% of the game and the best player on the floor takes over.

You are right.

[Rudy Bargnani]

https://twitter.com/matt_velazquez/s...755026432?s=21

So Mirotic confirmed as the starter for game 1.

Bledsoe
Middleton
Mirotic
Giannis
Lopez

Going to be really interesting to see how Bud manages his substitutions. He's got a lot more options than Nurse.

Interesting. Seems like a chess move to get Kawhi off of Middleton.

[Scraptor]

Does anyone feel like the narrative has switched 180 degrees this year? All you hear from Milwaukee is that their depth will win out. They have this proud and productive bench mob. The Raps have a thin bench and won’t be able to match up. Sound like anyone we know ie the circa 2017/18 Raptors? Let’s hope the flipped narrative continues and the bench battle fizzles out as the reality sinks in that the best five players play about 90% of the game and the best player on the floor takes over.

I think the difference is that they have a legit superstar + a bench, whereas we had no superstar last year so we were counting on depth to outweigh superstars, and we all know how that story ends.

Unfortunately they are pretty deep, much deeper than the Sixers. Adding Mirotic and Hill really bolstered their reserves.

I am concerned about fatigue the longer this series goes. But I do think our starters have a clear advantage over theirs, so I'm hopeful the bench disadvantage is just marginal. This is going to be a real test for Nurse (obviously).

[bertarapsfan]

whose watching the lottery? I hope to god the knicks don't get the number 1. I hope R.J ends up on a team I can cheer for and I hope that Memphis gets to keep their pick. They keep it if top 8 or goes to the Celtics if it falls outside of 8

[rocwell]

Lakerss gonna get Zion

[bertarapsfan]

Lakerss gonna get Zion

I cant believe they jumped that high. Gonna be complete bullshit if lakers get it. Im hoping for Memphis or NO

[The Great One]

This shit is so fucking RIGGED. Lakers had 2% chance of winning the lottery and now they're in the top 4.