The Toronto Raptors find themselves in a 0-2 hole against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals — and in desperate need of some adjustments.
Head coach Nick Nurse indicated that some of those changes will come early in the hopes of finding more favorable matchups on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. After a strong showing in Game 2, Nurse said that Norman Powell is likely to see more minutes as the Raptors hope to halt Milwaukee's momentum in Game 3.
Nurse on Norm: "I think what we've seen leads us to believe he's going to get more minutes tonight… I think you'll see a bit more of him and let's hope he can build off what he did in Game 2."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 19, 2019
The Bucks have torched Toronto to the tune of 116.5 points per game, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 27 points and 15 boards. In fact, six players are scoring in double figures for Milwaukee, compared to just four for the Raptors.
Powell is the only Raptors player with a positive net rating and at least thirty minutes of play time, according to Basketball-Reference. After playing under 10 minutes in Game 1, Powell played close to 25 minutes in Game 2 and scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding four rebounds.
Toronto has been hard-pressed to counter Milwaukee's inside-out scoring, particularly with the emergence of Brook Lopez as a scoring threat from the perimeter and the return of Malcolm Brogdon.
While Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry have been brilliant through the first two games of the series, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol have struggled tremendously as the Bucks have completely dominated the paint.
Powell offers a slightly different look on both offense and defense, and Nurse will be hoping that he can bring some added energy and firepower off the bench.
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