The Eastern Conference team, the Raptors, have been making a fortune lately, and today they beat the Hawks to win five straight. Siakam cut 33 points and nine rebounds, and VanVleet, who was selected as an All-Star, also cut a double-double. Today's game has a 28-23 record with the Raptors, which has improved to seventh in the East. Following this trend, the Raptors are likely to squeeze the Nets to sixth place in the East.
With the Raptors and the top five teams in the East still having three wins to go, it is not easy for the Raptors to rush into the upper half of the East this season. But this will undoubtedly give last season's NBA championship Bucks no small challenge, to say that the Bucks nemesis is not the Raptors. The Bucks and Raptors have played three games this season, and the Raptors have won all three games without exception. Take two games in January, when the Raptors beat the Bucks on Jan. 6, and they won 117-111 on the road. On January 16, the Raptors won 103:96 on the road, and both games the Raptors dragged the Bucks to the end, winning defensively. Especially on January 16, the Raptors played an iron-blooded defense in the final moments, and the Bucks could not move forward.
Why were the Bucks beaten three times by the Raptors? This has to start from the Raptors' lineup configuration, the Raptors team is based on defense. They currently have a number of tall strikers in their squad, which is the ultimate answer to the small ball. The Raptors have height, movement speed, and a certain amount of strength to fight. Anunoby, Siakam and rookie Barnes are all good offensive and defensive players. Alphabet Brother will have a lot of headaches facing these fronts.
The Raptors have a strong ability to change defenses indefinitely, and point guard VanVleet is also a very good defensive player. The Bucks are hard to play if they want to make alphabet brothers targeted singles. Middleton and Holliday also didn't take much advantage. Don't forget, the Raptors have an absolute psychological advantage against the Bucks, not just these three wins in the regular season this season. In the 2019 playoffs, the Raptors pulled four consecutive games with the Eastern Conference Finals trailing first, knocking the Bucks out of the Finals and winning the championship. Therefore, the Raptors have some psychological advantages when facing the opponent of the Bucks.
The Raptors have played more everyone this season than they did three years ago, and the defensive intensity has not dropped significantly. Several players selected by the team are defensively outstanding and have a positive attitude, and the Raptors have become a force to be reckoned with. At this stage, the Raptors have won five consecutive games and rank first among all teams in the East. And this wave of 5 consecutive wins is very gold,Let's see what teams the Raptors have beaten. The Raptors beat the Heat on Jan. 30, followed by the Hawks, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. On February 2 they defeated the Heat again. On February 4, he beat the No. 1 team in the East, the Bulls. The Raptors have played against veritable playoff teams in these 5 games, which can also achieve 5 consecutive wins.
The Raptors are really going to make a difference, and they are definitely not a good opponent. Any team that faces them in the playoffs has to peel off their skin. The Bucks are currently in fifth place in the East, but the 76ers are as poorly won as the 76ers. If the Bucks and Raptors play each other at the end of the season and enter the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks will be very tough at that time. Dear readers, how do you evaluate the Raptors' 3-time streak of bucks this season? Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below the article.