Despite the fact being down by 2 wins, Toronto Raptors won the East Finals vs Milwaukee Bucks. To reach the NBA Finals, they needed to adjust their defense and certain players stepped-up in order to helped them overcome Giannis' team.
The defensive adjustment on Giannis Antetokounmpo
Buck's offense is built around Giannis' ability to penetrate with force and their good shooters waiting on the perimeter (Middleton, Lopez, Brogdon, Ilyasova, Hill). Raptors' coach Nick Nurse has set a goal for his defense: don't let Giannis drive in the paint whether in transition or set play situations. This was plausible due to a great defensive player named Kawhi Leonard and the help he got from his teammates, especially the ones guarding Eric Bledshoe, Milwaukee's worst spot shooter.
In the following clip, we can see the "wall" Giannis had to face driving the lane, forcing him to take mid-range shots or confront more than one opponent on his way to the basket. This led him to many missed shots.
In the following clip, we can see the "wall" Giannis had to face driving the lane, forcing him to take mid-range shots or confront more than one opponent on his way to the basket. This led him to many missed shots.
Kawhi Leonard's mid-range game and his evolution to a great scorer
Apart from his efforts in the defensive end, the 27 year old forward has evolved into a scoring machine, by improving his off the dribble shooting and being able to make many mid-range shots. During his first years in the league, he scored mainly by penetrating and taking spot-up 3s, but by working on his shooting rhytmh off the dribble he's a proof that the mid-range game is overlooked but it can be crucial. Kawhi was a really good 3 & D player and now he's a superstar because of this.
At the same time, he remains a reliable 3p shooter, adding the off the dribble 3 to his arsenal, giving him the option to run pick n' roll plays. Adding his mentality to attack the basket on close-out situations and his above average free throw percentage to the mix, makes easy to explain his 30+ points per game.
Marc Gasol's key role
When Jonas Valanciunas left and Marc Gasol came in his place, many people were negative about it mainly because of his older age. Marc's passing skills though became an important element of Toronto's offense, since the 34 year old spanish national can read defensive reactions and pass to his open teammates correctly.
His ability to shoot the 3p shot was another factor for Bucks' defense to disrupt. Either by pick & pop out actions either or hovering on the perimeter while another teammate got the ball down low, Gasol was ready to catch and shoot the open 3. Of course, he was a key player in defense on Giannis too, due to his size and experience, as shown in the clip above.
Fred Van Vleet's outburst
The x-factor, who made more 3p shots than anyone else in the series and helped his team to increase its total scoring rate. Whether in transition or off-ball actions, even running some pick n' rolls himself, Van Vleet was another key player for the Raptors.
