NBA: Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Milwaukee Bucks continue their road trip in New York, where they meet with the Knicks in Madison. The champions have been playing solid lately, while on the other side, New York is in problems. The Knicks can’t find the pace, and they aren’t looking like a playoff team at the moment. Several losses have pushed them outside the play-in zone, and we can expect massive changes on the roster in the near future. Some suggest that Kemba Walker and several other players are already in the trade block, available to become a part of a deal. The media in the Big Apple is speculating about the potential acquisitions, and being honest, that is attracting more attention than the upcoming games.

Preview

Milwaukee Bucks (17-10, -130) beat the Rockets in Houston before jumping back to the East coast. Before a 123-114 victory in Texas, the champs visited Miami, and the shorthanded Heat, losing at the American Airlines Arena, 113-104.

The contest in Houston saw fantastic Giannis scoring 41 points and grabbing 17 boards, terminating a seven-game winning streak of the hosts, who suddenly rose following an awful start. The Bucks broke the Rockets’ defiance in the fourth period, outscoring the hosts 33-19 during those 12 minutes.

The Bucks have shot 50.6% from the field, also hitting 15 threes. Mike Budenholzer’s unit ran the floor pretty well, having 27 fast break points and allowing only five for Houston. That has been a quality of the Bucks they’ve neglected in recent times.

New York Knicks (12-14, +115) lost four in the last five, with the sole win coming on the road in San Antonio. After that, the NYK posted defeats in Indiana, and the most recent one in Toronto against the Raptors, 90-87. New York was back from a 20-point deficit in Canada, taking the lead two minutes before the end, but still losing.

We don’t need to mention that it only made the atmosphere in the locker room even worse. After a good start and all the hype, talks about the deep playoff run, etc., the Knicks had a reality check and are now deflated.

Tom Thibodeau was very unhappy with the way his team performed from downtown, making only nine of 34 attempts. Overall, the Knicks had 35.8% of shooting. They had more rebounds, 55-48, but committed 15 turnovers. RJ Barrett scored 19 points, the same ss Obi Toppin who came off the bench and added 10 boards. Julius Randle had 13 buckets and 14 boards.

Head to Head

The Knicks and the Bucks already played two games up until this point. The first one was in Milwaukee, where the Knicks won 113-98. Giannis and the champs fought back at Madison, where they triumphed 112-100.

Prediction

The Knicks are in a tough situation, with the team falling apart and many players who aren’t sure whether they will stay in New York or be included in some of the upcoming trades. Losing games in streaks is a logical outcome of the entire story. That’s why we believe that the Bucks will win without any particular problems and cover the spread, which is -3 on them. The odds on our pick are -110, and we strongly suggest going for it.

Pick: Bucks -3