Milwaukee Bucks

Bucks (21-24) at Raptors (28-18): Preview

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:43 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brian Boake/FanSided via Raptors Rapture

The Raptors’ shiny season has gone astray, while the Bucks started well but have hit the skids. Somebody’s got to win.

Two struggling teams meet at the ACC. The Milwaukee Bucks have 1 win to show for their past 7 outings, while the Toronto Raptors are 0-5 since defeating Brooklyn eons ago (well, OK, it was less than 2 weeks ago, but it feels like forever since we’ve enjoyed a victory).

The Bucks are similar to the Raps in the sense of relying heavily on two men to provide a huge chunk of their offense. While our guys, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, aren’t old, they are greybeards compared to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. The Greek Freak is 22, and Parker won’t reach that age until March. Yet they combine to average 44 points PG.

Milwaukee has been treading water while sweet-shooting swingman Khris Middleton heals from a serious hamstring injury which has kept him off the floor all season. Whether they will still be within shouting distance of a playoff spot when he returns sometime after the All-Star break remains to be seen.

Greg Monroe was supposed to change their fortunes when he signed as a free agent before last season, but that hasn’t worked, to put it mildly. He displayed some nifty footwork in the low block on occasion, but I think he’s playing in the wrong era. Big men who don’t run the floor aren’t a hot commodity these days.

All their frontcourt men have been disappointments over the past few years, which makes me wonder if coach Jason Kidd is the right man for this group.

3 keys to Raptors victory