Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks Preview
It all comes down to this, well, kind of. The Milwaukee Bucks (28-29) will host the New York Knicks (29-28) Wednesday night in a matchup that could very well decide who will represent the eighth seed, or possibly seventh depending on what happens with the Philadelphia 76ers, in the Eastern Conference.
Both teams are coming off crucial losses to teams that represent the best of each conference. Milwaukee is coming off a blowout loss to the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in which the final score was 109-89. Meanwhile, the Knicks lost to the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls 98-86 Tuesday night despite Derrick Rose sitting out with a sore ankle.
This game not only will give the team who wins it a huge advantage going forward but with only nine games left it could be the final dagger. If Milwaukee wins the game they will win the season series 3-1 and therefore own the tiebreaker, meaning if the two teams finish the year with the same exact record the Bucks will go on to the postseason. If New York wins they will have a huge two-game lead but Milwaukee will still not be out of it because the Knicks still have a difficult remaining schedule.
The Bucks must jump out of the gate quickly and play unselfish basketball like they normally do. It will all depend on how much energy they bring right away in the first quarter. If they can swing the ball and shoot a decent percentage from the field then the game should be theirs.
“Win or lose, are we playing like we understand the magnitude of the moment, and the type of energy we need to come out and compete?” Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said, according to ESPN.com.
New York understands the magnitude of the game and they will not be fooled by anything. Remember, they lost twice to the Bucks earlier this season so they certainly will not take anything for granted. It will have a playoff atmosphere no doubt which is when Carmelo Anthony shines.
“It’s a must win,” Anthony said. “It’s probably one of the biggest games of the season for us. We’ve got to be ready.”
Milwaukee guards Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings will have to step their game up big time for the Bucks to win. They will have to set the tempo of the game and push the pace. They will also have to shoot better than they did in the 89-80 loss to the Knicks on March 26. Jennings went 6-of-22 from the field scoring six points while Ellis was 2-of-14 with four points.
This is the most important game of the season thus far for both teams which means it will be a very intense contest. It will be exciting to watch for the fans, tiring for the players and nerve racking for the coaches. It will have every element of a playoff matchup with very similar repercussions. Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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