Raptors Uprising to face Bucks Gaming in quarter-final at THE TIPOFF tournament
June 18, 2020
TORONTO, Canada—After breezing through pool play on Wednesday, Raptors Uprising GC will face Bucks Gaming in a best-of-three series on Thursday in the quarter-final of THE TIPOFF tournament, presented by AT&T. The winner will advance to Friday’s semifinal while the loser will be eliminated.
Raptors Uprising (9-0), undefeated in regular-season action, stroll into Thursday evening’s tilt confident after going 4-0 in Group 6, taking care of Blazer5 Gaming and Lakers Gaming. Toronto finished atop their group thanks to a +127 point differential after Gen. G Tigers also went 4-0.
Point guard Kenny Got Work was once again lights out for Raptors Uprising, averaging 39.8 points and 10.0 assists, while centre Sick One recorded four-straight double-doubles down low.
When they knew it could come down to point differential the boys put up +129 across four games. Who you think got tonight's @OntarioLottery Game Ball from @Timelycook? pic.twitter.com/pzHG1GRInA
— Raptors Uprising GC (@RaptorsGC) June 18, 2020
Bucks Gaming (4-4), meanwhile, emerged out of Group 5 after holding off Knicks Gaming in their final matchup of the night. They ended up taking the contest 66-61, becoming the only team in their pool (which also included Heat Check Gaming) to go 3-1. As a result, they’ll play the red-hot Raptors Uprising, which likely isn’t much of a consolation.
Milwaukee does hold a 3-0 all-time record over Toronto, however, most recently eliminating Raptors Uprising at THE TURN a season ago (62-72). Arooks’ game-high 29 was enough for Bucks Gaming on that day, while Kenny was held to just 19 at the small forward position.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” said Kenny Got Work, prior to Thursday’s tipoff. “There’s a reason Bucks Gaming made it out of their group, but there’s also a reason that we are the best team in the world.”
Making this defence thing look easy. #THETIPOFF pic.twitter.com/atmOFImBLk
— Raptors Uprising GC (@RaptorsGC) June 18, 2020
Like Raptors Uprising, Bucks Gaming selected four new players in the offseason to join returning veterans Arooks and Plondo. With the 12th-overall pick, the team took Regg at point guard, and so far, he has not disappointed, most recently recording a 40-point, 14-assist double-double in their win over Knicks Gaming.
So far, he’s been able to find his rhythm, but will certainly be in tough matched up against the league’s leader in steals: Raptors Uprising lockdown defender Timelycook.
With only eight teams remaining, the $160,000 USD prize pool—as well as the first of three tournament banners on the year—are in sight. We’ll see which of these teams will be able to inch closer and advance to Friday’s semifinal.
Stat To Watch: 7.0 – Raptors Uprising did a terrific job of controlling the rock in their four pool-play games, averaging just 7.0 turnovers per game. In fact, the team from the North didn’t record more than nine turnovers in each of their four games yesterday. Raptors Uprising didn’t let their opponents off the hook either, forcing 18.5 turnovers per game, including 23 in their most recent win over Lakers Gaming. If Toronto does a good job of controlling the rock, and still manages to get a few freebies, this team is very tough to beat.
Key Matchup To Watch: Timelycook vs. Regg – Two of the most talked about stories coming into this year’s draft, we’ll see the 2020 11th-overall pick (Timelycook) battle it out with 12th-overall pick (Regg) on Thursday night. Both of these players have been playing like top-5 picks, especially Timelycook who has proven that he is once again the best defender in the league after missing out on Season 2. The current league-leader in steals always seems to find an extra gear when playing against a talented point guard, so it may be a long night for Regg, who also has the ability to take over a game on his own. If Timley can contain the Bucks Gaming point guard, it’ll certainly spell trouble for Milwaukee.
How To Watch: Fans can watch Raptors Uprising play Bucks Gaming (9 p.m. EST) in its entirety via the Twitch Command Center, which is available on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch channel. The TIPOFF matches will also be streamed on Sportsnet and ESPN’s digital platforms and the league’s YouTube channel.