The 2017-18 season did not prove well for the New York Knicks against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Monday’s game will start a four-matchup series between the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks in 2018-19. It’s two of the NBA’s youngest rosters set to go head-to-head, including the star power of Giannis Antetokounmpo on one side.
These teams also battled four times in 2017-18, with unremarkable results for the Knicks, who dropped each game within an eight-week stretch:
- 90-92 loss on Feb. 2, 2018
- 89-103 loss on Feb. 6, 2018
- 112-120 loss on Mar. 9, 2018
- 102-115 loss on Apr. 7, 2018
Giannis Antetokounmpo
To no surprise, Antetokounmpo dominated the three games he played in, with 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game on 45.7 percent shooting. This included a game-winner in the Feb. 2 matchup to culminate what he did against New York.
Kristaps Porzingis worked on the Greek Freak in that first game, but even he couldn’t contain him. The torn ACL was suffered soon after, which diminished the players that could guard the 23-year-old. (It happened in the Feb. 6 game.)
Lance Thomas’ 6-foot-8 frame will be the next option to take on Antetokounmpo this time around, but even that might not be enough, despite the veteran forward’s defensive presence. Frank Ntilikina, too, who gives up five inches in a head-to-head matchup, if head coach David Fizdale experiments with attempts to contain this potential MVP candidate.
David Fizdale throws hosannas at the feet of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) October 22, 2018
"I don’t know what position to call Giannis, to be honest with you. He can guard everybody. He can play every single position on the floor — post, wing, point guard. He can definitely be a generational player."
In two games, Antetokounmpo has averaged 25.5 points, 16.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists on a 47.7 shooting clip.
Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton also fared well against New York. His 20.2 points per game worked against the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee.
This time around, with Ntilikina in the starting lineup, he might take Middleton for 25-30 minutes and try to contain the second piece of Milwaukee’s offense. He already has 21 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting and a 53.3 mark from behind the arc.
Eric Bledsoe
There’s also Eric Bledsoe, who the Frenchman could instead guard. He put up 22 points and 10 assists in these teams’ final matchup of 2017-18 and had the highest Offensive Rating of any Buck to face the Knicks at least twice in last season at 121.1, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
Bledsoe has averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 54.5 percent shooting.
Keys to the first 2018-19 game
The Knicks and Bucks have similar rosters to last season and, even more so, without Kevin Knox. Head coach Mike Budenholzer’s group might have more scorers to contain this time around, however, with Donte DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova all added in the offseason.
To combat them, New York needs their own hot shooting night, especially as Milwaukee has averaged 48.3 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three-point range, compared to the 42.4 percent and 34.4 percent from long range on Fizdale’s side.
Hardaway and Enes Kanter are healthy for this game, and Allonzo Trier has emerged as a rising threat to accompany them. Outside of this trio, few scorers have emerged, even with Trey Burke’s up-and-down start to the season.
It comes down to the Knicks defensive efforts, which place them at No. 6 in points allowed per game at 105.7 on 44.9 percent shooting. Still a small sample size through three games, but a positive one nonetheless for a group that gave up 108 points and finished in the bottom half of the league.
The Knicks and Bucks will clash at 8:00 p.m. ET on MSG, FSWI and NBA League Pass (paid subscription). Will this night end a two-game losing streak for Hardaway, Kanter and the rest of the roster?