Game Recap: Knicks Lose High Scoring Affair to Bucks

Oct 20, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert (21) defends against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the Knicks took a step backwards defensively as they allowed 120 points to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the 120-107 loss at The Garden, the Knicks scored a lot of points, but shot a terrible 37%. They made up for the missed two’s with a lot of three’s (14-35), highlighted by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 4-6 from downtown. While the Knicks were busy bricking shots, the Bucks couldn’t miss. For the game, the Bucks shot 60% (!) from the field, including 50% from downtown. This game will not make the defensive highlight tape for New York.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, that wasn’t even the worst part of the night. Only four minutes into the game, Jose Calderon left the game with what Knicks PR is calling a “calf strain.” While the prognosis is that the injury isn’t serious, we caught a glimpse of how miserable life would be without Calderon. In 21 minutes, Shane Larkin had a whopping 0 assists. I honestly don’t even know how that is possible as the point guard of a team that scored 107 points on the night. Pablo Prigioni saw extended minutes tonight as well in Calderon’s absence and managed a solid stat line: 8 points, 4 assists, and a pair of steals. While Prigioni’s performance wasn’t poor, he doesn’t have the ability to put up the numbers the Knicks lack without Calderon.

Another area where the Knicks really struggled in the absence of Jose Calderon was floor spacing. When Calderon is on the court, he will always draw a defender on the perimeter since he is a lethal shooter. However, the Bucks sagged off of both Larkin and Prigioni daring them to try and score. This causes problems with the flow of the offense and disrupts the ability for rotations to occur. If the Knicks want to succeed this season, they need to solve this glaring issue at back up point guard. Carmelo Anthony shouldn’t be the team leader in assists with 6.

Other Observations:

• Amar’e Stoudemire got the surprise start at center. He took advantage of it and looked very good tonight. STAT had 14 points on 5-7 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. He even had three assists!
• After making waves as potentially starting, Jason Smith really struggled tonight. After not playing until the second quarter, Smith never got it going and contributed 2 rebounds and an assist in 11 minutes to go along with 0-5 shooting.
• Carmelo Anthony really struggled shooting the ball (7-22), but managed to help the team in other ways: 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and two steals. Good to see him not hanging his head when he isn’t shooting well.
• Cleanthony Early was the first guy off the bench tonight (besides Larkin for an injured Calderon). Like the rest of the preseason, Early looked atrocious. Having no impact on offense (0 points), he negatively contributed on defense as he was constantly torched by Giannis Antetokounmpo. I think Derek Fisher called the wrong name on that sub.
• Tim Hardaway Jr. lit it up. The second year sharp shooter had 20 points in 22 minutes on 5-9 shooting, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. Still can’t really play defense (see O.J. Mayo‘s 24 point night), but at least he’s making a big impact offensively.
• Iman Shumpert rebounded well. Not much else. His 2-10 shooting was hard to watch, but at least he didn’t hang his head. He seems to be giving maximum effort every night.
• Samuel Dalembert and Quincy Acy saw some needed rest tonight playing 8 and 14 minutes, respectively.

Although the Knicks were not sharp tonight, they have a quicker turnaround this week with another game at The Garden on Wednesday. On a positive ending note, he is Quincy Acy throwing down one of the more ferocious dunks I have ever seen.