The Milwaukee Bucks are back in town, licking their wounds after a loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. On this Friday, they prep for a laaaaate 9 pm central tip-off against the New York Knickerbockers.
Where We’re At
Milwaukee finally found some groove with three straight wins before they went kersplat against a Cavaliers squad that shot them outta the gym. Their barrage of threes, plus capitalizing upon 19 Bucks turnovers, all combined for a 115-99 loss. Jrue Holiday was bottled up, the bench didn’t offer much of anything and Giannis Antetokounmpo put up stats, but never took control of the game until it was too late. I could go on and on but Giannis just about summer it up with “we sucked.”
Giannis really brought a bucket of wings to the postgame presser & started chowing down. pic.twitter.com/Eurg1kSl0E
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 27, 2022
Timely triples did them in, and they’ll be thankful to face a team with far less length and defensive pedigree in the New York Knicks. Grayson Allen will also be returning after his one game suspension.
As for those Knicks, their most recent loss came at the hands of the Miami Heat who downed them 110 to 96. It’s been rough going for the Big Apple‘s team ever since those Halcyon bing bong days to open the season. After posting one of the leagues best defensive ratings last year, in part do to outrageous opponent three-point shooting, they’re middle of the pack this time around. But in reality is they’re all fence that is dragging them down this season especially due to the loss of Derrick Rose, who will likely be out at least through the All-Star break. that’s music to the ears of Milwaukee Bucks fans who have seen Rose torch their team time and time again of late. another major issue for the next regression this season has been Julius Randle who hasn’t lived up to the all-NBA status he earned last year. His three-point percentage has dropped from 41% last year to 30% this year (closer to his career average) and his efficiency is way down. He’s still putting up assist and rebound numbers, but he can’t score the same way, which is a problem with Rose, the engine of their offense, out. They also made the in-season trade to acquire Cam Reddish for a first round pick and a bag of chips, we’ll see if he can carry any of his magic over from last year’s EC finals.
For the Bucks, Rodney Hood is doubtful while Wes Matthews is probable, a great sign after his injury the other evening. As for New York, Ryan Arcidiacano and Nerlens Noel are each questionable.
Player to Watch
Jrue Holiday was quiet against the Cavs, going for just four points and seven assists on nine shots. I’d look for him to get going early and often against this Knicks team, who don’t have many perimeter defenders that will be able to match his strength when he burrows down low. He won’t have to worry about wrapping up Rose either, so his defensive load may be lightened a bit.
Poll
Game 51: Against New York, the Bucks will...
This poll is closed
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67%
Win big (by 10 or more points)
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18%
Win close (by 9 or fewer points)
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5%
Lose close (by 9 or fewer points)
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8%
Lose big (by 10 or more points)
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