Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks Preview: Big Apple Showdown

After a week of games played at the comfy confines of Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee Bucks head out to the Big Apple to play the New York Knicks. The Bucks beat the Knicks in their first matchup back in October 119-108.

Where We’re At

The Bucks are taking full advantage of their home-heavy schedule and besides a weird hiccup against the Bulls, which my bad for being too confident in my last preview, the Bucks took care of business. Giannis Antetokounmpo ascended up the ladder and received another Eastern Conference Player of the Week after putting up a 35.3/9.5/5.8 stat line.

The New York Knicks have not had the best of times losing four of their last six games, though most have been by a close margin. The Knicks enjoyed a beatdown of the Detroit Pistons by a score of 140-110 Tuesday night and the ability to rest players in garbage time would normally be a welcomed sight for a coach. The Knicks are coached by Tom Thibodeau however, so the scrubs didn’t come in until there were less than three minutes left in the game. The Bucks are still without the usual players (Middleton & Ingles) as well as MarJon Beauchamp, Serge Ibaka and Sandro Mamukelashvili, but help is on the horizon if you choose to fully believe this.

Player to Watch

Jevon Carter seems to be fully entrenched as a rotational player for the Bucks. Even with Pat Connaughton returning, that has not seen Carter’s minutes drop. Carter still averaged 26.5 minutes a game last week and has been one of the few Bucks players to be healthy and available all season. It will be interesting how much he hounds Immanuel Quickley and Derrick Rose when they are in, with Rose notable for taking any mid-range shot the Bucks give him.