🏀 Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks - 1/6/25 👀
One team of dinosaurs takes on another in a high flying battle north of the border
The wild and unpredictable Toronto Raptors welcome the veteran Milwaukee Bucks north of the border Monday evening. These two teams last met in early November, playing to a shockingly inept scoreline of 99-85 in favor of the Bucks. Both teams were missing good chunks of their offensive firepower then, and it will be raining 3’s tonight in Toronto while many stay inside to avoid the elements.
Things could not have started out worse for the dinosaurs from the great city up north. And no, I don’t mean the Bucks. Toronto has been plagued with all sorts of injuries to their erratic, but exciting cast of offensive weapons. Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, and RJ Barrett have all missed significant time this season, and they have struggled to find any sort of continuity, which has resulted in an 8-27 record overall. Their offense shows flashes at times of being unstoppable, but there have been some major duds thrown in as well, including their last game against the Bucks and their last outing at home against Orlando. Toronto faithful will hope that tonight, however, showcases what they can be when the full cast of characters is on display. If RJ Barrett returns, it will be the first time that the planned starting 5 will be on the court together this season. Even if he is not, Toronto will have more firepower than they have had most of the season.
Milwaukee seemed to have turned a corner before the holidays, winning 6 out of 7, and quieting some of their critics in the process. The deer then proceeded to lose 4 out 5, with all 4 of those losses coming at the hands of bottom tier competition (Nets x2, Bulls, and Trailblazers). It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is going on, but it can mostly be chalked up to an aging core that rarely has its few pieces together and very little depth to compliment Giannis and Lillard when they don’t. Khris Middleton is also working his way back into the starting lineup, so this could just be a stretch of growing pains as they work everything out before a spring run. One positive that Milwaukee fans can take from this stretch: the Bucks rank 3rd overall in defensive efficiency over the last 10 games.
Both Khris Middleton and Giannis have indicated that they are good to go for this one, giving Milwaukee its full complement of stars on rare occasion this season.
Toronto is almost back to full health, but that status rests on RJ Barrett, who is still questionable with an illness. If he suits up, expect the line to move a point or two in Toronto’s favor.
The Owl predicts
Milwaukee 122 Toronto 117
Milwaukee is desperate to feel success with their 3 stars all playing at once, while Toronto is desperate for…anything. We expect Milwaukee to figure it out in the end, but expect Toronto to make things difficult and make the Bucks run up and down the floor. They should have more success doing this than they did against Orlando, and defense will be at a premium in this one. Toronto is 11-5-1 ATS as a home dog, and 18-13-1 ATS vs. teams that allow points at the rate the Bucks do. Milwaukee is sub .500 ATS in almost all categories for this one.
Consensus odds currently:
Mil -7.5 O/U 231