NBA: Who presents the biggest threat to the Bucks in the East?

3. Toronto Raptors

The defending champs have had an array of injuries befall on every person in their starting five at some point this year. Yet, the coaching acumen of Nick Nurse and intense depth from their second unit has allowed the Raptors to push through and be the fourth-best team in the East at 25-13. So once their full squad comes back that consists of players a year removed from their finals run, the chances of them becoming a more serious contender in the eastern conference heighten ever so slightly.

As an offense, the team goes as Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam take them. The two could be eastern conference All-Stars in a few weeks and as of now give the team’s offense an infusion of juice in halfcourt iso situations when the play breaks down. Timely baskets from Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell throughout the season provide a fallback option scoring wise when their top two players aren’t making buckets.

Yet, the calling card for this Raptors team since the Casey days has been their defense which has kept them in an array of games this year vs the opposition when their offense wasn’t clicking. Against the Bucks, size inside from Gasol and Ibaka could help challenge the rim and provide a similar semblance to “The Wall of Giannis” that they had last year.

Albeit they’re missing their lone front-line barrier to segue Giannis into the teeth of the defense in Kawhi Leonard, they have a collected cast of perimeter stoppers in Rondae Hollis- Jefferson, Lowry, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw that could challenge every Giannis drive at the rim and move him from his offensive square.